A Mexican citizen has pleaded guilty to bringing three people, including a 9-month-old child, across the Niagara River into Grand Island in exchange for an expected payment. Andres Carrillo-Hernandez, 27, faces between three and 10 years in federal prison.
Carrillo-Hernandez pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara to alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office news release. The charge also carries a possible $250,000 fine.
The plea agreement describes a March 15, 2026, crossing in a motorized inflatable raft. Carrillo-Hernandez and the three passengers boarded near Boyer's Creek in Ontario, Canada, before he drove across the international border to the U.S. shoreline near West River Road.
The passengers were an adult man, an adult woman and the infant. None was a U.S. citizen or national, prosecutors said. The crossing took place at night in water about 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
The passengers left the raft after reaching shore, while Carrillo-Hernandez remained aboard. Border Patrol agents apprehended him and the passengers near West River Road.
Carrillo-Hernandez told investigators he expected to receive about $2,000 for transporting the passengers, according to the plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for March 15, 2027, at 11 a.m.
U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan Fitzgerald and Evan Glaberson are handling the prosecution.
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