United States v. De Jesus-Batres

W. EUGENE DAVIS, Circuit Judge:

In this direct criminal appeal, the defendants appeal their convictions and sentences on charges of harboring illegal aliens for financial gain and conspiracy to hold aliens hostage. Based on arguments of counsel, our review of the briefs and the record, we AFFIRM their convictions, MODIFY their sentences on Count One and otherwise AFFIRM their overall sentences.

I

Teresa De Jesus-Batres (“De Jesus-Batres”), Jose Alvarez-Batres (“Jose”) and Walberto Alvarez-Batres (‘Walberto”) (a mother and her two sons) were indicted on three counts: (1) aiding and abetting alien…