It’s been just eight months since a string of highway accidents involving illegal immigrants prompted Colorado lawmakers to pass a new law making human smuggling a state crime.
On Tuesday afternoon, a van loaded with 15 people believed to be in the U.S. illegally went out of control on Interstate 70 and crashed, killing four. The accident may lead to the first prosecution under the smuggling law.
The driver of the van, Jose Franco-Rodriguez of Mexico, was arrested and charged with felony human smuggling. Federal charges have not been filed, state Public Safety spokesman Lance Clem said. But state and local officials are coordinating with federal immigration officials to determine if other charges will be filed and how prosecution will proceed. If a federal case is brought, it would take precedence over the state charges.
Tuesday’s accident on eastbound I-70 near Idaho Springs was a tragedy. We don’t yet know all the details, but the people crowded into the van had likely paid substantial amounts of money to be taken to jobs and new homes.
What previous highway rollovers underscored for lawmakers last spring is that Colorado is a key crossroads in a nationwide smuggling system, and that thousands of people make the dangerous journey through our state every year. The perceived problem was that state and local law enforcement had little authority to deal with the growing volume of smugglers and their human cargo.
Even though human smuggling for financial gain is already a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines, state lawmakers, backed by state and local law enforcement officials, decided Colorado needed its own law. Federal authorities are notified of such cases but sometimes are too busy to respond, Clem said.
Arizona is the only other state with its own law prohibiting human smuggling. But, nearly all human smuggling violations there continue to be prosecuted under federal statutes. Colorado fiscal analysts said that the majority of people accused of smuggling here are expected to be charged and prosecuted under federal law.
Still, the new state law may have benefit because it gives state authorities their own weapon against human smugglers if federal enforcers don’t act.
Beyond the question of who prosecutes smugglers, this week’s deaths are another reminder that the trafficking will continue until the federal government enacts the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that will bring migrant workers out the shadow world that fosters smuggling.
