PHOENIX, Ariz. — A Mexican national who led a large-scale human smuggling operation and coached migrants to falsely claim asylum was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced Monday.
Ivan Mauricio Hernandez-Mosqueda, 32, of Penjamo, Guanajuato, Mexico, was sentenced on April 2, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Krissa M. Lanham after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Encourage and Induce an Alien to Unlawfully Enter the United States.
Court records indicate that Hernandez-Mosqueda was responsible for illegally smuggling well over 100 individuals into the United States through Arizona between 2023 and 2024.
According to investigators, Hernandez-Mosqueda was well known in his hometown of Penjamo as someone who could help migrants reach the United States. He arranged for them to travel from Penjamo to Sonoyta, Sonora, where his associates would smuggle them across the border.
Smuggled migrants, including families, were instructed to claim asylum under false pretenses—a tactic Hernandez-Mosqueda taught them to help secure legal entry once they arrived.
He recruited many clients through Facebook and WhatsApp, using referrals from individuals who had previously used his services to successfully cross into the U.S.
The case was investigated by Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol Sector Intelligence Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart Zander and Matthew Doyle, based in Phoenix, prosecuted the case.
