INS Arrests 20 in Alien Smuggling Ring Case

Immigration agents arrested three smuggling suspects and 17 suspected illegal aliens in breaking up a ring that brought as many as 50 Filipinos a month to the United States for fees of up to $10,000, officials said Wednesday.

The three smuggling suspects, all Filipinos, were arrested Tuesday, two in Los Angeles, including the alleged ringleader, and the third in Santa Maria, U.S. Atty. Robert Bonner said.

Filipinos smuggled into the United States by the ring got airline tickets and bogus documents, including doctored passports and letters showing that they had worked as U.S. agricultural workers, Bonner told a news conference.

“The illegal aliens were even given drive-bys of strawberry farms so they could see where they were supposed to have worked, and they were given a brief education on how strawberries were picked--all done so they could deceive Immigration and Naturalization Service examiners when they were questioned about their . . . applications,” Bonner said.

Field Work

Aliens who can establish that they have performed at least 90 days of agricultural field work between May 1, 1985, and May 1, 1986, are eligible to apply for legal U.S. residency under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act.

The ring, which operated about two years, reportedly smuggled 30 to 50 illegal aliens into the United States each month, Bonner said.

Arrested were Maximo Dulay, 40, who was identified as the alleged ringleader, and suspected co-conspirators Caroline Pasamba, 27, who was arrested in Los Angeles with Dulay, and Renato Pacorsa, 29, who was arrested in Santa Maria. Seventeen aliens believed smuggled by the ring also were arrested and face either deportation or prosecution, or both, Bonner said.

If convicted of smuggling charges, the suspects could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Bonner said.

Travel Agents

The arrests followed a 4-month INS investigation that reached from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Manila, said Harold Ezell, INS western region commissioner.