Increased penalties for alien smuggling

Pursuant to section 994 of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall promulgate guidelines, or amend existing guidelines, to provide that a defendant convicted of violating, or conspiring to violate section 1324(a) of title 8, United States Code, shall be assigned not less than offense level 25 under section 2L1.1 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines if any of the following factors exist— (1) if the offense involved five or more aliens in a single scheme or otherwise; (2) if the offense involved other criminal activity including, but not limited to, violations of the Controlled Substances Act, prostitution, importation of aliens for immoral purposes, trafficking in firearms, money laundering, illegal gang activities, kidnapping or ransom demands, fraudulent documents, or extortion; (3) if the offense involves smuggling of persons under the age of 18 years for the purposes of illegal adoption or of sexual or commercial exploitation; (4) if the offense involves the smuggling of known or suspected terrorists or persons involved in organized crime; (5) if the offense involves dangerous or inhumane treatment of the persons smuggled; or (6) if death or serious bodily harm occurs to persons smuggled. Otherwise, the base offense level shall be 13, except for an offense described in section 1324(a)(2)(A) of title 8, United States Code.