Moayad Heider Mohammad Aldairi, a 31-year-old Jordanian national, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States, admitting his central role in a 2017 operation to smuggle at least six Yemeni nationals across the Texas border. The scheme cut through Monterrey, Mexico, and targeted a remote stretch of the Rio Grande near Piedras Negras, where Aldairi directed the migrants to cross into U.S. soil under cover.
Aldairi didn’t rely on luck—he engineered deception. He supplied construction hard hats and reflective vests to some of the Yemeni nationals, instructing them to pose as laborers once inside the country. The move was calculated to bypass suspicion and blend into border communities. The plea agreement confirms Aldairi coordinated transportation from Mexico and collected fees for the illegal passage, profiting from the desperation of those seeking entry.
The case, prosecuted under the Justice Department’s Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, highlights the federal government’s intensified focus on human smuggling networks with potential national security implications. The ECT program, a joint effort between the Criminal Division and Homeland Security Investigations, targets high-risk smuggling operations—particularly those involving individuals from countries designated as high-interest.
“When Mohammad Aldairi illegally smuggled multiple Yemeni aliens across our southwest border, he put the security of the United States in peril,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski. “The Department of Justice cannot — and will not — tolerate such threats to our national security.” His words echoed through the federal announcement, underscoring the gravity of exploiting immigration pathways for covert entry.
U.S. Attorney John F. Bash of the Western District of Texas reinforced the message: “Border security is national security. We simply cannot have an immigration system that allows people from all over the world to enter this country without detection.” Chief Patrol Agent Raul Ortiz of the Del Rio Sector praised interagency collaboration, calling the investigation a blueprint for dismantling transnational smuggling rings.
HSI Eagle Pass led the probe, with critical support from HSI New York, HSI Monterrey, HSI Jordan, the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol, and the FBI San Antonio. Sentencing will be determined by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses at a later date. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney James Hepburn and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Watters, closing in on a network that once slipped beneath the radar.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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