BURLINGTON, VT – A Michigan woman has been indicted for her role in an international alien smuggling conspiracy that brought migrants, including children, from Central America into the United States across the northern border.
A federal grand jury charged Norma Linda Lozano, also known as Norma Linda Quintanilla Lozano, 53, of Ypsilanti, with one count of conspiracy to smuggle aliens and six counts of bringing aliens to the United States for profit.
According to the indictment, from February through November 2024, Lozano participated in an alien smuggling organization that moved migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador into the United States from Canada. The organization allegedly provided migrants with GPS coordinates and vehicle descriptions to assist border crossings and coordinated their pick-up once inside the country. Lozano is accused of transporting the migrants further into the United States, including to residences, businesses, and airports, in exchange for payment.
In one instance, Lozano allegedly transported three migrants from Guatemala and El Salvador while traveling with a five-year-old girl she falsely claimed was her granddaughter. In another event, she allegedly transported six adults along with an eight-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. The indictment states that the girl was placed in the cargo area of the hatchback on top of luggage.
The case marks the first indictment in the District of Vermont coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha, a Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security initiative targeting smuggling and trafficking networks operating across North and Central America.
HSI Burlington and U.S. Border Patrol Swanton Sector led the investigation with assistance from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., and Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force. Trial Attorney Jenna Reed of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Arra are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to dismantle cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
An indictment is an allegation. Lozano is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
