Established: June 7, 2021
Mission:
Disrupt and dismantle human smuggling and trafficking networks that exploit and endanger migrants to the United States from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and from Mexico. The Joint Task Force will investigate and prosecute those who are criminally smuggling and trafficking individuals into the United States, with a particular focus on individuals and networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger those being smuggled, pose national security threats, or have links to transnational organized crime.
Leadership:
Victor White, Assistant United States Attorney from the Southern District of California
Mike Sheckels, Deputy Chief, Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section
Under supervision of Nicholas L. McQuaid, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and named Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
Intelligence Resources:
ICE's Human Smuggling Unit
CBP's National Targeting Center
DEA's Special Operations Division
FBI' s International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center
Justice Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Fusion Center
Joint Task Force Alpha will work closely with Operation Sentinel, a recently announced DHS operation focused on countering transnational criminal organizations affiliated with migrant smuggling.