Alabama Man Arrested For Smuggling 20 Guatemalans to the U.S.
Undocumented Guatemalan immigrants are body searched before boarding a deportation flight to Guatemala City, Guatemala at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on June 24, 2011 in Mesa, Arizona. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE, repatriates thousands of undocumented Guatemalans monthly, many of whom are caught in the controversial "Secure Communities" data-sharing program which puts local police on the frontlines of national immigration enforcement. John Moore/Getty Images

After committing a traffic violation, an Alabama man traveling with his SUV is now accused of smuggling 20 Guatemalan men found inside his vehicle.

Authorities, who intercepted the Alabama man, said Pedro Roda-Lucas, 21, was driving a 2008 GMC Yukon when he was pulled over in Center City for a traffic violation, according to KIRO7.

The Mills County Sheriff's Office said Roda-Lucas of Tuscaloosa could not provide a driver's license when he was asked for documentation, and he also gave authorities a fictitious name.

In a Facebook post published on April 1, the Mills County Sheriff's Office said deputies found 21 men inside Roda-Lucas' vehicle. Later on, the individuals were determined to be from Guatemala and were in the United States illegally.

Mills County Sheriff Clint Hammonds said that the Guatemalan men had paid to be brought to the U.S., and "all were on their way to Georgia."

Hammonds said all people inside the vehicle except for the driver did not have any mobile phones or money as they had been taken away from them.

Hammonds noted that they were able to secure and interviewed the 21 Guatemalan men with the aid of the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and Texas Parks And Wildlife game wardens.

Sheriff Clint Hammonds reported that on Thursday, April 1, Mills County Sheriff’s Office arrested an individual for... Posted by Mills County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Roda-Lucas eventually admitted that he was smuggling the Guatemalans and was to be paid $450 per person upon arrival in Georgia, KWTX reported. Hammonds said the Alabama man was arrested, but the Guatemalans inside the SUV were released.

The Sheriff's Office online booking records showed that Roda-Lucas was charged with smuggling of persons, a third-degree felony. The suspect was also charged with failure to identify, providing a fictitious name, and driving with a suspended license.

Biden's Immigration Orders

Hammonds said the Mills County Sheriff's Office had contacted the U.S. Border Patrol and was advised that due to President Joe Biden's new orders on immigration, they should not take the Guatemalans into custody.

Hammonds noted that they were also told to let the Guatemalans go if they do not have any offenses against them.

Meanwhile, the Sheriff's Office said Fellowship Baptist Church's members in Center City helped move the remaining 20 men to the church. Church officials gave the Guatemalans water and food upon arrival at the church.

Last February, Brodrick Keith Rhodes, a 32-year-old Houston man, has been charged with conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants.

Authorities stopped the suspect when he approached the Free Border Patrol checkpoint in San Diego, Texas, in January as he drove a semi-truck and refrigerated trailer.

Authorities discovered 119 illegal immigrants in the trailer's cargo area after a K-9 alerted a possible presence of contraband and subsequent inspection of the vehicle.

Rhodes is facing up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine if convicted with the charges filed against him.