Migrant Smuggler Pleads Guilty To Maritime Smuggling Operation Resulting In 11 Deaths

A Dominican national pleaded guilty to operating an illegal migrant smuggling operation that resulted in the death of 11 people, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported.

Fermin Montilla, a 45-year old Dominican national, pleaded guilty after being charged with “bringing aliens to the United States at a place other than a designated point of entry resulting in death,” a press release from the DOJ found.

“According to court documents, Montilla was involved in a maritime human smuggling venture that attempted to bring migrants illegally to the United States,” the press release explains.

The illegal migrant smuggler, who now faces a sentence of up to life in prison, attempted to smuggle 48 illegal immigrants into the United States in 2022. Montilla was among 38 people who were rescued by the United States Coast Guard after his vessel capsized off the coast of Puerto Rico.

The case comes as migrant fatalities have surged in recent years. Data from the International Organization for Migration, a pro-mass immigration organization associated with the United Nations, indicates that there were 686 migrant deaths along the land route leading to the southern border in 2022 alone.

Illegal immigrants have also attempted to enter the United States by sea under the Biden-Harris administration, which has presided over an unprecedented immigration crisis. One video from December documented a migrant landing on the beaches of Malibu, with 25 illegal aliens rushing out of a 25-foot boat and onto the shore of one of the wealthiest communities in the United States.

The Daily Wire exclusively reported just weeks later that the Coast Guard suspected that there was a “possible migrant landing” in Malibu, California.

Exclusive: Coast Guard Suspects ‘Migrant Landing’ In Malibu, Second In Weeks On California Coast pic.twitter.com/O77rCA9UXy

— Spencer Lindquist ???????? (@SpencerLndqst) December 20, 2023

Over 10 million people have crossed the border under the Biden-Harris administration, with an estimated 1.7 million illegal immigrant gotaways recorded since Biden was inaugurated in 2021. There were a total of 415,000 reported gotaways for 2018, 2019, and 2020 during the Trump administration.