Two illegal alien women, smuggled across the U.S.–Mexican border and held for ransom, have been rescued from a motel in Higginsvile, Mo. The incident again puts a spotlight on the nation’s border with Mexico and the amount of illegal activity crossing the border in the absence of a secure border wall.
The women said they were smuggled into the country from Mexico and sexually assaulted while being held for ransom. Higginsville is about 25 minutes east of the Kansas City Metro.
Three men discovered holding the women are now facing numerous charges.
According to court documents filed by Lafayette County prosecutors, agents with the Department of Homeland Security tipped local authorities to the alleged human trafficking situation.
Relatives of the two women reported to authorities that kidnappers were demanding ransom money for their release.
Based on the tip from Homeland Security, Higginsville police found the two women and three men at a motel.
Speaking through a Spanish interpreter, the women told police that the men had physically and sexually assaulted them in the motel room.
They said that one of the men was angry because the families of the women were not paying enough money, according to the documents.
Both women had bruising and swelling on their bodies, officers noted.
One woman said that one of the men threatened to kill her if her family did not pay and if she did not comply with her sexual advances.
The men charged in Lafayette County Circuit Court are:
Alain Camarillo-Linan, Jaciel Mendez-Morales and Luis Sierra-Vallina.
Camarillo-Linnan is charged with three counts of sodomy and two counts each of rape, kidnapping, sexual abuse and assault.
Mendez-Morales and Sierra-Vallina are each charged with two counts of rape, two counts of sodomy and two counts of kidnapping.
The three men were arraigned on the charges Monday and pleaded not guilty.
They are being held in the Lafayette County Jail.
President Trump has repeatedly said that a new border wall needs to be built along the nation’s southern border to prevent drugs, gangs and sex trafficking. It is not known how many women and children are smuggled through the gaps in the border but estimates are that it is in the thousands.
The rescue of the women highlights that unless a secure border is established, women and children will continue to be smuggled either for ransom or sex trafficking.