Garland woman pleads guilty in Smith County to smuggling migrants

SMITH COUNTY — A Garland woman pleaded guilty in Smith County to smuggling migrants. According to our news partner KETK, on Thursday, Sheri Lin Ha, 24, pleaded guilty to smuggling of persons and received five years of deferred adjudication. Ha was indicted by a grand jury in December 2021 on charges for smuggling seven undocumented migrants in her car. The woman was arrested in July 2021 after Smith County authorities pulled over the Ford Expedition she was driving. Officials noticed there were seven male passengers in the vehicle, who were undocumented migrants from Guatemala. During the stop, deputies also found a vial of illegal drugs on Ha. Officials believed she was trafficking for profit, said Sgt. Larry Christian, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer.