Driver accused of transporting immigrant children

Eds: UPDATES throughout with details from indictment, comment from prosecutor, office, ICE.

By ROXANA HEGEMAN

Associated Press Writer

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- An unaccompanied 2-year-old in soiled clothes and an unchanged diaper who was fed only Gatorade was among a dozen illegal immigrants allegedly driven across the U.S. by a man facing federal charges in Kansas, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Santos Tomas Ochoa-Bello, a 29-year-old from Mexico, is accused of transporting 12 illegal immigrants from a "stash house" in Phoenix, Ariz., bound for destinations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey where they hoped to join relatives and find work, according to a two-count indictment.

A so-called stash house is a residence where illegal immigrants are hidden until they can make arrangements, usually financial, for transportation to destinations throughout the United States.

Six children traveling without parents or legal guardians were among the passengers in a minivan driven by Ochoa-Bello that was stopped Nov. 24 by the Kansas Highway Patrol after a traffic infraction in Barton County, the indictment says. The toddler girl apparently was separated from her mother at some point during the time the passengers crossed from Mexico to the United States, according to court documents.

"The agents have taken a personal interest, as has the U.S. attorney's office, and I know if there is anything that needs to be done to help this 2-year-old we are going to do this," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson said.

Ochoa-Bello is charged with one count each of unlawful transportation of illegal immigrants and unlawful re-entry into the United States after being deported. Prosecutors allege he agreed to drive the illegal immigrants, all citizens of Mexico or Guatemala, from Phoenix to Pennsylvania, where he was to turn the van over to another driver.

Court documents do not list an attorney for Ochoa-Bello and the U.S. attorney's office said it does not know if he has retained one. His first court appearance has not yet been scheduled.

Typically in cases of illegal immigration by juveniles, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency policy calls for agents to work with social service agencies to return the children to their families in their home countries, said Jim Cross, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas.

ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro declined to release any information about the juveniles found in Kansas, citing privacy concerns. But she said all unaccompanied minors encountered by ICE are turned over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health & Human Services.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement gets about 7,200 unaccompanied illegal immigrant children a year in its facilities, said spokesman Kenneth Wolfe. Their average stay is 55 days before they are released to family members or sponsors, age out of the facility, or are returned to their home countries, he said.

Ochoa-Bello faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.