Mexican Couple Extradited for Smuggling Children Into the United States

Two Mexican citizens have been extradited to the United States to face charges of smuggling children into the country, roughly a year after a federal grand jury indicted the couple.

Susana and Daniel Guadian, both 51 and from Juarez, Mexico, were allegedly part of an immigrant smuggling organization from May 1, 2024, through Oct. 17, 2024, that smuggled 5- to 13-year-old unaccompanied minors from Juarez to the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Sept. 29 statement.

The duo allegedly recruited drivers to transport children from Mexico to a U.S. border port of entry by car. When drivers and other co-conspirators came into contact with inspecting officers, they would lie about being the parents and provide U.S. documents that they falsely claimed belonged to the children, according to the DOJ.

Once the children entered the United States, they were taken to El Paso, where other individuals would pick them up. The drivers were paid $900 per minor, the DOJ said.

In at least one smuggling event, the children were allegedly sedated with gummies containing marijuana. One of them had to be hospitalized and was diagnosed with marijuana poisoning, the DOJ said.

The Guadians have been charged with conspiracy to transport immigrants and bringing them illegally to the United States for financial gain. U.S. law criminalizes bringing in and harboring immigrants. 

“There is nothing more reprehensible than exploiting vulnerable children for profit. Smuggling children across our border is not a victimless crime,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan G. McRae of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso said in the statement. 

“Giving children cannabis-infused candy to sedate them is an especially disturbing abuse of their trust and safety. HSI will continue to hold accountable those who facilitate these dangerous schemes that treat children as commodities for financial gain and puts them in harm’s way.”

The Epoch Times was unable to reach the legal representatives of Susana and Daniel Guadian.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a total of 7,608 unaccompanied immigrant children have been encountered along the Southwest land border in the 11 months of fiscal year 2026.

In the entirety of fiscal year 2025, there were 29,145 encounters, and 109,998 in the previous year.

Thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children arrive at the U.S. border every year, with their journey posing major safety risks, according to the July 17 update from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“These children often face harrowing journeys—exposed to human traffickers, smugglers, and others who seek to take advantage of their vulnerability,” DHS said. “Once these unaccompanied children enter the United States, they are at high risk of exploitation, abuse, and trafficking without parents or guardians to protect and guide them.”

When such a child is taken into custody by U.S. authorities, they are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, which provides food, shelter, and medical care. During this time, the office will be looking to place the children with vetted sponsors who can care for them while they await immigration proceedings.

White House border czar Tom Homan recently said in an interview with The Epoch Times’ “American Thought Leaders” program that around 157,000 children who crossed into the United States as unaccompanied minors have so far been found under the second Trump administration.

Under the previous administration, just under half a million children were smuggled into the country, Homan said. 

At the time, Department of Health and Human Services officials said they were proud that children were detained only briefly.

“They weren’t [held] very long, but the problem is they released them quickly because the sponsors weren’t properly vetted,” Homan said.

With many caretakers not responding to check-ins or communications, the government lost track of almost 300,000 children, he said.

President Donald Trump has “asked me to do three things: secure the border, run deportation operations, and find these kids,” Homan said.

According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, out of the total immigration offenses reported to the agency in fiscal year 2025, 17 percent were linked to immigrant smuggling, up 11 percent since fiscal year 2021. Around 14 percent of immigrant smuggling offenses involved unaccompanied minors.

Jan Jekielek contributed to this report.