THE U.S. Attorney’s Office said the eight Chinese nationals who attempted to illegally enter Guam should be sentenced to jail terms for a period of time they had already served.
Xiping Gao, Yu Xing Lin, Bin Weng, Lu Xu, Qin Chen, Ziyou Xu, Xiangke Zhang and Fuquan Miao were arrested last month for attempting to enter Guam illegally by paying an undercover agent posing as a boat captain.
Each of them was charged in the District Court for the NMI with “engaging in a conspiracy [to transport, move, or attempt to transport or move] an alien within the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien came to, entered, and remained in the United States in violation of law.”
According to a memorandum in aid of sentencing signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley, a 10-day incarceration would achieve a sentence of time served.
“In just the last two days,” the memorandum added, “the [U.S.] government has indicted more than 30 Chinese nationals for conspiring to transport illegal aliens, specifically, for making or attempting to make the unlawful and dangerous trip from Saipan to Guam.”
“There is an unknown but significantly large number of Chinese still living and working unlawfully in Saipan, some of whom may be tempted to try where others have failed. If they do they will not only jeopardize their own lives but also those who are often called upon to rescue them when their plan goes awry,” the memorandum stated.
“To deter those who may nonetheless be thinking it is worth the risk, this Court should impose a sentence sufficient to disabuse them of the notion.”
