A federal judge ordered the deportation of a Mexican man living in Texas under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program following his conviction on human smuggling charges. The man entered an insanity plea to avoid prison time for trying move three illegal immigrants past a Border Patrol checkpoint near Laredo.

Last week, 22-year-old Jose Yepez Vega was sentenced to time served and was stripped of his DACA protection. Yepez lived in Laredo since he age 16 and registered for DACA at its inception. In April, Yepez pleaded guilty to three counts of human smuggling and one count of conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed.

The case began on July 2018, when Yepez loaded three illegal immigrants into his car and tried to drive around a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint north of Laredo. One agent tried to pull him over. Instead of stopping, Yepez led authorities on a high-speed chase that ended when he lost control of the car and crashed. One of the migrants in the vehicle told authorities that Yepez drove between 120 and 130 mph. Another migrant said he yelled for the smuggler to stop, but the DACA recipient refused.

After his arrest, Yepez entered the insanity claim. A judge ordered a psychological evaluation but the case eventually proceeded. Shortly after, Yepez pleaded guilty to all charges.

DACA Recipient Smuggling Case by ildefonso ortiz on Scribd

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.