Edgar Sanchez-Solis, 24, pleaded guilty on May 7, 2026, to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors say Sanchez-Solis was a leader in an alien-smuggling organization that brought people from Mexico and Central and South America across the northern U.S. border with Canada and into the United States for profit.
According to a Justice Department press release citing court documents, Sanchez-Solis lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and helped coordinate smuggling events with other leaders of the organization. Prosecutors say the group smuggled "hundreds" of people into the United States and used drivers to pick them up after they crossed the border and drive them farther into the country.
The Justice Department said one smuggling event in May 2023 involved a van carrying migrants that was pursued by U.S. Border Patrol in a high-speed chase. Border Patrol ended the pursuit because of the risk to the public, and a local sheriff’s department later stopped the vehicle using a tire-deflation device, the department said.
Sanchez-Solis is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10, the Justice Department said. Prosecutors said the charges carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 15 years, with sentencing to be determined by a federal judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Daily Wire, which also reported on the guilty plea, described the case as part of a larger smuggling operation that moved people into the United States through New York. The Justice Department announcement did not specify a state of entry beyond describing the route as across the northern border with Canada.
