Kilmer Abrego Garcia pleads not guilty to human smuggling charges
Kilmer Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father who is a central figure in President Trump’s mass deportation policy, has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling.
A Far Northwest Pacific captain has been convicted of a high-level people-smuggling scheme that netted tens of thousands of dollars transporting undocumented Chinese nationals to the U.S. territory of Guam.
The case highlights the high price tag some foreign nationals are willing to pay to reach the shores of the United States and its territories. Federal prosecutors said the illegal operation netted at least $80,000 in travel and other transportation costs that led to the capture of the captain’s vessel.
Steven Villagomez Pangelinan, 58, is one of four people serving federal prison terms for their roles in an organized people-smuggling operation that transported Chinese nationals between remote U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean.
Each was found guilty of conspiracy to transport unauthorized aliens. Mission leader Pangelinan was sentenced to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
“The defendants facilitated illegal immigration for their own financial gain, putting the lives of many at risk,” said Sean Anderson, United States Attorney for the District of Guam and the Mariana Islands.
Chief Judge Ramona Mangrogna of the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands handed down the verdict on November 19th and 20th.
In an unrelated case, a Chinese man was sentenced to three months in federal prison earlier this year for trying to smuggle illegal Chinese immigrants into Guam in an attempt to exploit a loophole that allowed Chinese tourists to visit the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa. Some immigrants try to take advantage of the exemption to go to Guam. Guam requires a visa, but you can earn higher wages.
On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a statement that Pangelinan led two boats, a 25-foot Boston Whaler and an 18-foot McKee Craft, on an overnight journey from Saipan to Guam. This is one of many trips Pangelinan has made as part of his ongoing human smuggling operation.
Saipan, the largest island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is located approximately 190 miles north of Guam. Both are independent US territories.
The Justice Department said Pangelinan owned two boats, one of which he captained on a getaway, and paid each Chinese national about $4,500 to avoid U.S. Customs and Border Protection airport inspections, netting him $80,000.
Guam authorities spotted the vessel disembarking passengers, alerted CNMI law enforcement, and apprehended the returning boat and its four crew members.
William Cabrera Jr., 44, who the Justice Department has named as Pangelinan’s main accomplice on this and previous trips, was the captain of the second boat, federal prosecutors said. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Stephen Chris Tomokane, 55, a boat mechanic who stored vessels used by Mr. Pangelinan in his business, received a six-month prison sentence, plus six months of home detention and three years of supervised release.
Crew member Kenneth Hokkog Pangelinan, 38, was sentenced to 37 days in prison and three years of supervised release. The Justice Department has not disclosed whether he is related to Steven Pangelinan.
The two vessels, along with the 31-foot Fountain Powerboat, which was also involved in the smuggling operation, will be confiscated by the federal government, the department said.
“This ruling underscores Homeland Security Investigations’ unwavering commitment to dismantling criminal networks that exploit vulnerable individuals for profit while undermining the integrity of our nation’s immigration system,” said Lucia Cabral de Armas of the agency’s Honolulu office. “The defendant in this case put lives at risk and violated the law.”
