Mexican Human Smuggler Made Half-Million Bringing Migrants Across Canadian Border to U.S.

A federal judge in the District of Vermont has convicted and sentenced a Mexican national to prison for smuggling nearly 100 immigrants across the Canadian border into the United States. The Mexican received approximately $500,000 in smuggling fees over a five-month period.

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of New York announced that District Judge Mary Kay Lancille sentenced Luis Fernando Barragan Palacios, 29, of Queens, New York, to 18 months in federal prison. Barragan Palacios is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, and is expected to be deported once his sentence is completed.

Prosecutors said Barragan-Palacios tried to stop a Swanton Border Patrol agent's rented pickup truck near the Vermont border with Canada, but he refused to yield. Despite the icy road conditions, Barragan-Palacios recklessly led the agents on a high-speed chase.

Barragan-Palacios reached speeds approaching 135 mph while fleeing from investigators. Investigators later learned that Mexican smugglers had left the six migrants unsecured in the back of a pickup truck and lying unbelted in the cab.

Barragan-Palacios pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiring with others to deport immigrants who illegally crossed the border from Canada into the United States, according to U.S. prosecutors. According to court records, he made about 30 human stowaway trips between August 2023 and January 2024.

During the five-month period of the smuggling scheme, Barragan Palacios transported nearly 100 migrants from the Canadian border in Vermont to the New York City area. He admitted to receiving approximately $500,000 for his participation in the human smuggling scheme.