Indian Migrants Arrested During Smuggling Attempt near Canadian Border

Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of Indian migrants after smugglers illegally moved them across the border into New York from Canada.

Agents assigned to the Massena Border Patrol Station stopped a taxi on December 8. The agents carried out an immigration interview with the occupants of the vehicle and determined that two of the passengers were Indian migrants who had illegally entered the U.S. from Canada, according to information obtained from Swanton Sector Border Patrol officials.

The agents determined the driver of the taxi to be a U.S. naturalized citizen from India. The agents also identified an additional passenger in the vehicle as an Indian national with Lawful Permanent Resident status. The agents placed both of them under arrest and charged them with Alien Smuggling under 8 USC 1324, officials stated.

If convicted on the charges, each person could face up to 10 years in federal prison for each count of the violation.

Agents transported the pair of Indian migrants to the Massena Border Patrol Station where they underwent a screening and background investigation. Officials stated that the migrants will be charged with Improper Entry by an Alien under 8 USC 1325.

“The arrests of these human smugglers is another great example of the hard work Border Patrol agents do every day to make our communities safer and secure our nation’s border,” said Wade Laughman, Patrol Agent-in-Charge of the Massena Station.

Breitbart Texas frequently reports on apprehensions of illegal aliens by Border Patrol agents in the Swanton Sector and other sectors along the Canadian border.

In September, Swanton Sector agents arrested 24 illegal immigrants and a wanted felon at an inland immigration checkpoint, Breitbart Texas reported. The migrants came to the U.S. from seven different countries. Those countries include Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Russia, officials reported. Seven of the illegal aliens had been previously deported and were arrested for illegal re-entry after removal — a felony charge under 8 USC 1326.