Mexican National Sentenced after Smuggling Illegal Aliens into the United States and Encouraging them to Claim Asylum under False Pretenses

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Ivan Mauricio Hernandez-Mosqueda, 32, a Mexican national from Penjamo, Guanajuato, Mexico, illegally present in the United States, was sentenced on April 2, 2025, by United States District Judge Krissa M. Lanham to 46 months in prison for Conspiracy to Encourage and Induce an Alien to Unlawfully Enter the United States.

Court documents show that federal agents identified well over 100 individuals who used Hernandez-Mosqueda’s organization to be smuggled illegally into the United States through Arizona.

Beginning in early 2023, U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered many Mexican nationals who entered the United States illegally and were claiming asylum. A number of the encounters involved family units who stated that Hernandez-Mosqueda was known in their hometown of Penjamo as someone who would guide individuals from Penjamo to Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico. From Sonoyta, the illegal aliens were smuggled into the United States by associates of Hernandez-Mosqueda. These aliens were referred to Hernandez-Mosqueda via Facebook and WhatsApp by individuals who had already been successfully smuggled illegally into the United States through his organization.

In addition to coordinating their illegal entry into the United States, Hernandez-Mosqueda coached the illegal aliens on how to claim asylum under false pretenses to gain legal status in the United States.

Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol Sector Intelligence Unit conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Stuart Zander and Matthew Doyle, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-00820-PHX-KML
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-056_Hernandez-Mosqueda

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

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