SAN ANTONIO – A woman has been sentenced in federal court for her role in a human smuggling operation.
On Monday, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that 50-year-old Temple Ordaz-Alvarado had been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison after being convicted of helping smuggle 53 illegal migrants into the country.
According to the DOJ, Ordaz-Alvarado transported undocumented immigrants between Eagle Pass and San Antonio between Sept. 8, 2021, to May 21, 2024.
“Ordaz-Alvarado was arrested during a traffic stop driving ahead of her co-conspirator, Honduran national Erin Gutierrez-Maradiaga, who was discovered to be transporting four illegal aliens,” said the Department of Justice in a statement. “During the traffic stop, U.S. Border Patrol agents seized approximately $3,004 in proceeds from Ordaz-Alvarado.”
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Gutierrez-Maradiaga had driven from Houston to Eagle Pass, where Temple Ordaz-Alvarado had offered to pay him $1,500 per immigrant, to transport four immigrants to San Antonio.
Ordaz-Alvarado pled guilty to human smuggling charges on Aug. 12, 2024, and has been sentenced to 60 months in U.S. Federal Prison. Co-defendant Gutierrez-Maradiaga was sentenced to 76 months in prison on March 7.