SAN ANTONIO – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services assisted in a significant human smuggling investigation that resulted in the conviction of two men and the extradition of a third for their involvement in 53 deaths and 11 injuries in 2022. As part of the investigation, USCIS combed hundreds of immigration records and conducted electronic database searches to verify victim and subject identities.
Felipe Orduna-Torres, 30, and Armando González-Ortega, 55, were convicted by a federal jury for their roles in the tragedy. The two men, along with others, smuggled approximately 66 individuals into the United States inside a tractor trailer that lacked functioning air conditioning. As temperatures soared, many of th