Former ICE contractor sentenced to 21 months in prison for smuggling migrants

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor who smuggled busloads of migrants through a Border Patrol checkpoint was sentenced to 21 months in prison Wednesday.

Nancy Fernandez Luna, 36, of Pharr worked for MVM Inc., which transported migrants for ICE and the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.

In 2024, however, Fernandez began smuggling busloads of migrants with no legal status in the United States through the Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias.

To avoid suspicion, Fernandez forged documents and flashed her government ID. Her boyfriend, Juan Torres Ayala, drove the bus.

“She’s not the key player in this case,” said attorney Victoria Guerra of McAllen, who represented Fernandez. “He is.”

Fernandez was born and raised in Reyno