The trial of two men accused of orchestrating a smuggling operation that ended up with an Indian family freezing to death in a blizzard while attempting to cross the U.S.-Canada border is set to begin in Minnesota. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, an Indian national, and Steve Shand, a Florida resident, face charges related to human trafficking and culpable homicide.
The case stems from the deaths of Jagdish Patel (no relation to the man on trial), his wife Vaishaliben, and their two children of 11 and 3 years of age. The family, who had traveled from Gujarat, India, to Canada on visitor visas, attempted to cross the border into Minnesota on foot when they were caught in extreme weather, with temperatures plunging to -35°C (-31°F), as BBC News reports. Their bodies were found just meters from the border.
Prosecutors allege that Patel and Shand played key roles in a broader smuggling network which reportedly arranged Canadian student visas for migrants from India, transported them to border areas, and facilitated illegal crossings into the U.S. Shand allegedly drove migrants across the border for $25,000 over several trips, while Patel is accused of coordinating logistics, including transportation and accommodations.
On the day the Patel family died, Shand had texted Patel to ensure the migrants were dressed for the blizzard, court documents show. Shand was later arrested near the border in a van with two undocumented Indian nationals. Authorities also detained five others nearby, all from Gujarat. One migrant stated he had paid $87,000 to a smuggling network for assistance with entering Canada and crossing into the U.S.
The trial has shed light on the global reach of human smuggling operations, which often exploit vulnerable migrants seeking better opportunities. Many, like the Patels, come from regions where migration is seen as a pathway to prosperity. However, such journeys often involve significant risks and substantial debts to smugglers.
A recent report from CBS News revealed revealed the extent in which unlawful border crossing have become an issue, as numbers show roughly 19,000 people arrested for unlawful border crossing in the area during fiscal year 2024, about the same amount as the last 17 years combined.
Furthermore, Border Patrol data shows that 358 suspects on the terror watchlist were arrested on the northern border at ports of entry in fiscal year 2024, compared to a total of 155 suspects encountered in the southern one in the same time frame.
The situation led Thomas Homan, Donald Trump's newly minted "border czar" to refer to the norther border as an "extreme national security vulnerability", promising to deal with it once the new administration takes office.
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