Arizona Department of Agriculture employee accused of human smuggling

NOGALES, AZ (AZFamily) — A now-former employee of the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) was arrested earlier this month at the state’s southern border for alleged human smuggling, in an incident that threatens to derail the nomination of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ pick to run the state agency.

Joshua Castro is facing two federal charges: one felony and one misdemeanor. Further details of the arrest were laid out in a complaint filed two weeks ago by the U.S. District Attorney of Arizona.

On April 9, Border Patrol agents in Nogales spotted a black Chevrolet Impala quickly leaving a known smuggling route and getting onto Interstate 19, driving a certain way to see if law enforcement was around. The next evening, agents saw the same sedan in the area of Hereford Drive and International Street before losing sight of it. Agents saw only one person inside.

The following day, the agents saw the same sedan returning the way it came, but now with two passengers in the backseat. Agents followed the car onto the interstate, pulled it over and asked the driver, identified as Castro, about his passengers.

According to court documents, Castro said the two men had asked for a ride and he didn’t know them. But the agents soon determined the two men were Mexican citizens who were in the U.S. illegally.

One of the men told agents he paid 150,000 Mexican pesos (approximately $7,600 U.S. dollars) to be smuggled into the country. He said he illegally crossed the border and hid until he was told to walk to an area near a red house and look for a black car that would pick him up.

The other man told agents he was going to pay $12,000 to be smuggled into the U.S. and provided a similar account of how he crossed into the country and the directions he followed.

Following his arrest, Castro was immediately fired from AZDA, where he worked as a produce inspector. While Castro was not on duty at the time of his arrest, he was wearing his uniform, according to state officials briefed on the incident.

On Friday, the governor’s office issued the following statement:

“The governor strongly condemns the actions of this former employee. The Department of Agriculture took swift action, terminating the individual from their position immediately. Although this took place outside of work hours in the employee’s personal vehicle and away from work, AZDA has taken proactive steps to deter this unacceptable behavior. Policies and procedures are being reviewed, and will include mandatory training for supervisors and employees to include information from CBP on signs to watch for and how to report concerns.”

The situation puts Gov. Hobbs’ pick to run the AZDA in jeopardy. That nominee is Paul Brierley, who’s currently leading the agency as its acting director.

Earlier this month, Brierley narrowly passed confirmation in the Senate Committee on Director Nominations (DINO). The Republican-led committee voiced concern about Brierley’s years-old social media posts criticizing President Donald Trump. The full Senate still needs to confirm the acting director.

Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Republican from Queen Creek, is the chairman of the DINO committee who voted against Brierley in the committee earlier this month. And in a text message, Hoffman said the arrest of an AZDA employee on human smuggling charges will complicate Brierley’s full confirmation.

Hoffman later released the statement below:

“There are no words to adequately describe the obscene mismanagement occurring within Hobbs’ state government. It’s no wonder Hobbs vetoes every piece of meaningful border security legislation when on her watch her own state employee is being arrested and prosecuted for the human smuggling of illegal aliens. From cronyism to nepotism and pay-to-play to human smuggling, Katie Hobbs’ tenure as governor is proving to be one of the darkest periods in state history.

As for Brierly, the Nominations Committee and Senate Republicans had serious doubts about him already, this profound lack of management certainly won’t strengthen his case before the full senate."

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