Italian, Indian Migrants Apprehended After Illegally Crossing Canadian Border to U.S.

Border Patrol agents in upstate New York arrested an Italian and two Indian migrants after they illegally crossed the border from Canada. The arrests came as agents disrupted a human smuggling attempt near Fort Covington, New York.

Swanton Sector agents assigned to the Burke and Massena Stations attempted to stop a vehicle suspected of being involved in a human smuggling attempt. The driver of the vehicle stopped briefly, allowing three passengers to get out and fled the scene leading agents on a pursuit, according to information obtained from Swanton Sector Border Patrol officials.

The pursuit ended when the female driver crashed her vehicle into several Border Patrol vehicles. The agents apprehended her following the crash. None of the agents were injured. As a precaution, the agents transported the female driver to a local hospital for evaluation.

Other agents apprehended all three of the passengers that initially jumped out. After an immigration interview, the agents identified two of the migrants as Indian nationals. The third turned out to be Italian. Italy is currently in the midst of a serious outbreak of the Chinese Coronavirus. Officials did not disclose when the Italian migrant left Italy. Genders and ages of the migrant were also not reported by Swanton Sector officials.

The agents arrested the female driver. She will face federal felony charges for alien smuggling under 8 USC 1324, officials stated. The three migrants will be charged with Improper Entry by an Alien, 8 USC 1325, after agents determined they entered the U.S. illegally from Canada through the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation.

“We have incredible agents that work day and night to secure our nation’s border”, said Burke Station’s Patrol Agent in Charge Chris Buskey, “Thanks to their efforts, another smuggling attempt has been denied.”