In a stunning violation of the pledge to protect and serve, a National Guard member stationed in South Texas was convicted of importing illegal aliens into the United States. The soldier, Mario Sandoval, 27, of Houston, was found guilty last Monday after a joint investigation by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Corpus Christi, the US Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the US Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility.
The jury decided that Sandoval, who was assigned to Operation Lone Star with the Texas National Guard for border security, continued to transport illegal aliens into the country after his mission ended in July 2024. Released from service in October 2024, Sandoval conducted smuggling operations from the Rio Grande Valley to locations north of immigration checkpoints. According to the evidence produced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, incriminating text messages were recovered from Sandoval’s phone addressing the necessity for drivers to facilitate these illegal transportations.
Surveillance data confirmed Sandoval’s presence at immigration checkpoints while coordinating law enforcement patrols by text, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The defense’s attempts to dismiss the texts as out of context were unsuccessful, with the jury returning a guilty verdict after less than an hour of deliberation.
“The conduct in this case represents an unthinkable violation of public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, as reported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Sandoval, who faces up to ten years in federal prison, is expected to be sentenced on October 22. Those interested in following HSI Houston’s work against alien smuggling and transnational crime in Southeast Texas can get updates on social media at @HSIHouston.
