More human smugglers arrested coming through Canada, this time from India

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

International human smuggling schemes at the U.S.-Canada border continue with the latest indictment of an upstate New York woman accused of facilitating Indian nationals being brought into the U.S. from Canada.

In the Northern District of New York, Plattsburgh resident Stacey Taylor was arraigned after a federal grand jury in Albany indicted her in October in an alleged international alien smuggling conspiracy. Taylor facilitated the illegal entry of Indian nationals into upstate New York from Canada, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The indictment comes after the greatest number of Indian nationals and Canadian nationals illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden-Trudeau administrations, The Center Square exclusively reported.

Border Patrol agents first arrested Taylor in January, accusing her of picking up Indian and Canadian nationals after they illegally crossed the border from Canada into upstate New York near Churubusco. Upon inspection, they said they found text messages in her phone indicating she had been involved in multiple smuggling operations. After she was arrested and charged, she was released and continued to engage in human smuggling, according to the indictment.

She was later stopped “in a suspected alien smuggling venture in August 2025, and was implicated in alien smuggling as recently as September 2025,” according to the indictment

Taylor has been charged with conspiring with others to engage in alien smuggling, and four counts of alien smuggling for profit, with three counts being second or subsequent offenses, according to the indictment. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison for each count of alien smuggling for profit, and additional time for second and subsequent offenses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations-Rouse’s Point, U.S. Custom and Border Protection and Border Patrol-Champlain Station agents are investigating the case with assistance provided by CBP’s HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington D.C. and CBP’s International Interdiction Task Force.

The investigation is an outworking of DHS Joint Task Force Alpha targeting transnational criminal activity, including human smuggling and trafficking. It includes U.S. Attorneys’ Offices from southwest border districts, the Northern District of New York, the District of Vermont, and the Southern District of Florida. Multiple federal agencies are involved, including the DOJ’s Criminal Division, DHS, FBI, DEA and others.

As of Dec. 5, JTFA’s efforts have led to “more than 425 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 375 U.S. convictions; more than 325 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets,” the DOJ says.

Taylor’s indictment is the latest among many after the northern border saw a record number of illegal border crossers under the Biden administration, with nearly half reported in New York. Nearly 364,000 illegal border crossers were reported in four years in New York, The Center Square reported.

While the numbers have dropped under the Trump administration, they remain higher than the pre-Biden era, according to CBP data.

CBP and Border Patrol officers have apprehended the greatest number of foreign nationals on the federal terrorist watchlist, a record 1,216 at the northern border, The Center Square exclusively reported. They also continue to apprehend human smugglers from Mexico, Central America as well as U.S. citizens living near the U.S.-Canada border, The Center Square reported.

In February, President Donald Trump for the first time in U.S. history declared a national emergency at the northern border, also ordering the U.S. military to implement border security measures there. The Trump administration has also prioritized increased funding, recruitment and hiring and investment in technological capabilities at the northern border.