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City a hub for alien transport
Immigration agent cites interstates as reason
Saturday, April 29, 2006
JEREMY GRAY
News staff writer
Birmingham is a hub for the transport of illegal immigrants to the eastern United States, according to an affidavit filed Friday after the arrest of two Texas men on smuggling charges.

The city "is a large transshipment point for unlawful foreign nationals" "due to the presence of Interstates 20, 59, 459 and 65," says the affidavit from Special Agent Wes Anthony with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The two Texas men are in the Jefferson County jail, accused of smuggling aliens after they were caught on a Vestavia Hills roadside Tuesday with 20 Hispanic men with no immigration documents.

The affidavit, filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, was part of a criminal complaint sworn against Pablo Sergio Romo Rodriguez and Alejandro Jimenez Soria, both of Houston. Both were being held without bond Friday.

Rodriguez and Soria were driving 18 Hispanics in a van when they were arrested near an Acton Road McDonald's, according to the affidavit.

The men regularly act as "coyotes," shipping illegal immigrants through Alabama to several other Southeastern states, according to the agent.

Everett Wess, attorney for Soria, declined to comment on the charges Friday evening. Efforts failed Friday night to reach Rodriguez's attorney, Mark Polson.

A Tuesday morning fight that drew the attention of police began after the two attempted to extort money from the family of a 17-year-old illegal immigrant they were transporting from Houston, according to the affidavit.

The pair originally demanded $300 beyond the original fee - which federal officials say is already two to three times the price charged by legitimate transport companies - to "secure his release."

When the teen's family arrived at the restaurant, the affidavit states, the two asked for another $550. A cousin of the boy asked to see the teen, but Soria refused and threatened to leave unless he was given the money immediately.

The van was blocked in by one of the relative's cars as a fight erupted between the suspects and the cousin.

Vestavia Hills police alerted ICE, which determined that neither the suspects nor the men in the van had legal identification, the affidavit states.

The 15-passenger van was registered to Arcelia Transportation of Houston. Efforts to reach the company's owner, Bernardo J. Tovar, were unsuccessful Friday night.

Michael Whisonant of the U.S. attorney's office would not comment on the case Friday evening.

E-mail: jgray@bhamnews.com