Andres Carrillo-Hernandez, a 27-year-old citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court in Buffalo, New York, to alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced. The charge carries a mandatory minimum of three years in prison, a maximum of 10 years, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for March 15, 2027, at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
According to the plea agreement, on March 15, 2026, Carrillo-Hernandez boarded a motorized inflatable raft on the Niagara River shoreline near Boyer’s Creek, Ontario. Three other people, none of whom were U.S. citizens or nationals, boarded with him, including an adult man, an adult woman, and an infant. He drove the raft across the river to the U.S. shoreline near West River Road in Grand Island, New York. The crossing happened at night in water about 32 degrees Fahrenheit. He stayed on the raft while the passengers went ashore, and Border Patrol agents apprehended him and the passengers shortly afterward.
Carrillo-Hernandez told law enforcement that he expected to be paid about $2,000 to transport the passengers from Canada into the United States. Official immigration record checks were conducted after the arrest. A separate criminal complaint, as reported by local media, charged another passenger with illegal reentry after a prior removal from the United States. That passenger’s case is separate from the plea, and the reporting does not describe the outcome of those charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative that the department describes as targeting illegal immigration, cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime. Border Patrol officials said in March that the crossing was especially reckless because the river was freezing and a young child was on board. The guilty plea is not the final sentence. The judge will decide the sentence at the March 2027 hearing, within the range set by the statute and the plea agreement.
For readers, the case illustrates the risks of smuggling by small boat across cold water, where passengers, including children, can be injured or drown. It also shows how federal prosecutors can charge the driver and other passengers separately, based on what the complaint and plea agreement allege about each person’s role and immigration history. Any further developments will be announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the court’s sentence will be the next major milestone.
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