U.S. AG Pam Bondi back in Tampa to highlight trafficking arrests

Bondi discusses federal human smuggling crackdown

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stood alongside U.S. attorneys from Florida, Texas and Vermont to highlight indictments that were unsealed in just the last week across the country. Evan Axelbank reports.

TAMPA - U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stood alongside U.S. attorneys from Florida, Texas and Vermont to highlight indictments that were unsealed in just the last week across the country.

"The cost of human smuggling is huge. So many families are dying, so many people are dying," said Bondi.

The smugglers often charged $40,000 apiece and kept diligent records that authorities were able to recover that outlined each case.

"These people aren't some individuals from far off areas," said U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe of the middle district of Florida. "They're from neighborhoods right here in Tampa, from addresses that you know, that you could pass in public or walk on the street."

Full news conference: Pam Bondi on human trafficking in America

The U.S. Attorney General visited Tampa on Thursday to announce dozens of human smuggling arrests that were made in Tampa and around the country in just the last week

Dig deeper:

In Tampa, 12 people were arrested for human smuggling and for committing asylum fraud. They coached people from Cuba to claim asylum for dishonest reasons, and then on how to avoid detection while living in the U.S.

In some cases, children were sent alone on airplanes to come to the U.S. and were taught to lie to border patrol agents.

The records showed names, airlines, dates of travel and what routes they took.

"Make sure you tell these people that you're a tourist," Kehoe said of the smugglers' instructions. "Make sure you're telling them that you are just here for a visit. And of course, conceal the fact that you come from Cuba. And then when you get into the United States, lay low for a while."

Big picture view:

Investigators said this was like peeling an onion, that was happening right under our noses.

"People are expecting this in Texas and big cities, and Tampa is a big city, but it is everywhere it touches. I think every city in our country and traveling around this country, it's everywhere," said Bondi.

What's next:

The attorney general said a task force that brings officers from every level of government and every region in the country is being expanded in order to get a hold of this problem, especially because so many children are being smuggled.

The task force has charged 55 smugglers since the Trump Administration took over.

The U.S. attorney said there are several more open and active investigations happening right now in the Tampa area that involve human trafficking, and that the results of those investigations will be revealed soon.