Mother and daughter convicted of smuggling undocumented immigrant in Rio Grande Valley

MCALLEN, Texas — A federal jury convicted a mother and daughter from the Rio Grande Valley on June 3 of transporting an undocumented immigrant, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

The convictions cover two family members accused of human smuggling in the Southern District of Texas. The jury found both guilty after a trial that centered on their direct role in moving the illegal alien through the region, per the Justice Department release.

The case falls under federal statutes prohibiting the transportation of individuals who entered the United States unlawfully. Convictions carry potential prison sentences, though the exact terms will be set at sentencing hearings that have not yet been scheduled.

The outcome means the pair now face federal sentencing guidelines that treat human smuggling as a felony. Probation is unavailable in most such cases, and the convictions will remain on their records, affecting future employment, travel and immigration-related matters for both the convicted individuals and, by extension, their immediate family network in the Rio Grande Valley.

Downstream, the convictions require the U.S. Probation Office to prepare presentence investigation reports and the Bureau of Prisons to allocate bed space once sentences are imposed. The case also adds to the docket of the Southern District of Texas, one of the nation's busiest federal courts for immigration offenses.

Federal prosecutors must now track compliance with any post-sentencing supervision if the court imposes it.

This marks the latest conviction in the Justice Department's ongoing effort to prosecute human smuggling networks along the southwest border. The department has pursued similar family-based smuggling cases in the Rio Grande Valley for years, with federal juries returning guilty verdicts in multiple transport and harboring trials since 2020.

The verdict concludes one specific prosecution but leaves open questions about the scale of the network the pair may have operated within. Sentencing dates will be set by U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of Texas.