Human smugglers are shifting their smuggling routes and are now attempting to exploit the U.S.- Canada border, which is considered to be more vulnerable. The revelation comes in a series of federal cases that show that international human smuggling organizations are trying to move hundreds of migrants through the northern border.
The shift began during the Biden border crisis and recently began again as smuggling operations have become more difficult along the southern border due to increased barriers and manpower.
One case took place late last month, when three men from Mexico who were in the country illegally pleaded guilty to being part of a human smuggling organization that would move migrants from Mexico and Central and South America into Canada and then south to the United States. The three men are expected to be sentenced in November.
Once in the country, the group would then have drivers move the migrants throughout the United States. The three men were identified in court documents as Ignacio Diaz-Perez, 37, Samuel Diaz-Perez, 27, and Salvador Diaz-Diaz, 34. A fourth man, identified as Edgar Sanchez Solis, pleaded guilty to human smuggling conspiracy in May and is expected to be sentenced in September.
Also in July, 53-year-old Stephanie Square, a Canadian citizen, pleaded guilty to her role as the U.S. leader of a human smuggling organization that would move migrants through an Indian reservation. One of the major cases involving the Square payment processing system took place in 2023, when her group was moving a Romanian family by boat, but due to bad weather, the ship capsized, killing everyone on board.
As part of the investigation into the case, Canadian authorities arrested her, and U.S. authorities had her extradited so she could face charges. She is expected to be sentenced in November, at a time when she faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison. Authorities also arrested and extradited four other members of her smuggling group.
The most recent development in one of the cases took place this week, when 43-year-old Stacey Taylor from New York State pleaded guilty to her role in a smuggling conspiracy where she would pick up migrants near the border who had just walked into the United States from Canada, information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed.
Taylor is expected to be sentenced in December. Despite having been arrested in 2025, Taylor continued to work as a driver in several other smuggling attempts. In one case, authorities arrested her in 2025 after she had picked up three men from India and one from Canada. During the investigation, authorities learned that the woman would receive coordinates from other smugglers on where to pick up the migrants.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.