Human smugglers to be sentenced in death of family near Manitoba-U.S. border
Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel, two men convicted of human smuggling in a case where a family of four from India froze to death trying to cross the border from Manitoba into the U.S. in 2022, are set to be sentenced in a Fergus Falls, Minn., courthouse on Wednesday.
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CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S., charged with transporting people in the country illegally
WASHINGTON — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation to El Salvador became a political flashpoint in the Trump administration's stepped-up immigration enforcement, was returned to the United States on Friday to face criminal charges related to what the Trump administration said was a large human smuggling operation that brought immigrants into the country illegally. His abrupt release from El Salvador closes one chapter and opens another in a saga that yielded a remarkable, months-long standoff between Trump officials and the courts over a deportation that officials initially acknowledged was done in error but then continued to stand behind in apparent defiance of orders by judges to facilitate his return to the U.S. The development occurred after U.S. officials presented El Salvador President Nayib Bukele with an arrest warrant for federal charges in Tennessee accusing Abrego Garcia of playing a key role in smuggling immigrants into the country for money. He is expected to be prosecuted in the U.S. and, if convicted, will be returned to his home country of El Salvador at the conclusion of the case, officials said Friday. 'This is what American justice looks like,' U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in announcing Abrego Garcia's return and the unsealing of a grand jury indictment. Abrego Garcia's attorneys called the case 'baseless.' 'There's no way a jury is going to see the evidence and agree that this sheet metal worker is the leader of an international MS-13 smuggling conspiracy,' attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said. Federal Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville, Tenn., determined that Abrego Garcia will be held in custody until at least next Friday, when there will be an arraignment and detention hearing. Abrego Garcia appeared in court wearing a short-sleeved, white, button-down shirt. When asked if he understood the charges, he told the judge: 'Sí. Lo entiendo.' An interpreter then said: 'Yes. I understand.' Democrats and immigrant rights group had pressed for Abrego Garcia's release, with several lawmakers — including Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, where Abrego Garcia had lived for years — even traveling to El Salvador to visit him. A federal judge had ordered him to be returned in April and the Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal by directing the government to work to bring him back. But the news that Abrego Garcia, who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation to his native country over fears he would face persecution from local gangs, was being brought back for the purpose of prosecution was greeted with dismay by his lawyers. The case also prompted the resignation of a top supervisor in the U.S. attorney's office in Nashville, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. Ben Schrader, who was chief of the office's criminal division, did not explain the reason for his resignation but posted to social media around the time the indictment was being handed down, saying: 'It has been an incredible privilege to serve as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where the only job description I've ever known is to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons.' He declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press on Friday. Abrego Garcia's lawyer calls charges 'preposterous' 'This administration ... instead of simply admitting their mistake, they'll stop at nothing at all, including some of the most preposterous charges' imaginable, Sandoval-Moshenberg said. Ama Frimpong, legal director with the group CASA, said Abrego Garcia's family has mixed emotions about his return to the U.S. 'Let him talk to his wife. Let him talk to his children. This family has suffered enough,' she said. Sandoval-Moshenberg said Abrego Garcia is one of the first, if not the first, person released from a notorious prison in El Salvador, though he was later imprisoned at another facility. 'So it's going to be very interesting to hear what he has to say about the way in which he was treated,' the attorney said. The indictment, filed last month and unsealed Friday, lays out a string of allegations that date back to 2016 but are only being disclosed now, nearly three months after Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported and following the Trump administration's repeated claims that he is a criminal. It accuses him of smuggling throughout the U.S. thousands of people living in the country illegally, including children and members of the violent MS-13 gang, from Central America and abusing women he was transporting. A co-conspirator also alleged that he participated in the killing of a gang member's mother in El Salvador, prosecutors wrote in papers urging the judge to keep him behind bars while he awaits trial. The indictment does not charge him in connection with that allegation. 'Later, as part of his immigration proceedings in the United States, the defendant claimed he could not return to El Salvador because he was in fear of retribution from the 18th Street gang,' the detention memo states. 'While partially true — the defendant, according to the information received by the Government, was in fear of retaliation by the 18th Street gang — the underlying reason for the retaliation was the defendant's own actions in participating in the murder of a rival 18th Street gang member's mother," prosecutors wrote. The charges stem from a 2022 vehicle stop in which the Tennessee Highway Patrol suspected him of human trafficking. A report released by the Department of Homeland Security in April states that none of the people in the vehicle had luggage, while they listed the same address as Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime, while the officers allowed him to drive on with only a warning about an expired driver's license, according to the DHS report. The report said he was traveling from Texas to Maryland, via Missouri, to bring in people to perform construction work. In response to the report's release in April, Abrego Garcia's wife said in a statement that he sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites, 'so it's entirely plausible he would have been pulled over while driving with others in the vehicle. He was not charged with any crime or cited for any wrongdoing.' Immigrant rights advocates vs. the Trump administration Abrego Garcia's background and personal life have been a source of dispute and contested facts. Immigrant rights advocates have cast his arrest as emblematic of an administration whose deportation policy is haphazard and error-prone, while Trump officials have pointed to prior interactions with police and described him as a gang member who fits the mold they are determined to expel from the country. Abrego Garcia lived in the U.S. for roughly 14 years, during which he worked construction, got married and was raising three children with disabilities, according to court records. Trump administration officials said he was deported based on a 2019 accusation from Maryland police that he was an MS-13 gang member. Abrego Garcia denied the allegation and was never charged with a crime, his attorneys said. A U.S. immigration judge subsequently shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faced persecution there by local gangs. The Trump administration deported him there in March, later describing the mistake as 'an administrative error' but insisting he was in MS-13. Even if Abrego Garcia is convicted of the charges announced Friday, the Trump administration would still have to return to a U.S. immigration court if it wanted to deport him to El Salvador, Sandoval-Moshenberg said. He also expects the case in Maryland to continue as the federal judge there considers whether the administration obeyed her orders to return him. Abrego Garcia's return comes days after the Trump administration complied with a court order to return a Guatemalan man deported to Mexico despite his fears of being harmed there. The man, identified in court papers as O.C.G, was the first person known to have been returned to U.S. custody after deportation since the start of President Donald Trump's second term. Associated Press reporter Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report. Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Lindsay Whitehurst And Ben Finley, The Associated Press
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Here are organizations offering free activities for wildfire evacuees in Winnipeg
Amid uncertainty around how long people will be displaced by wildfires in Manitoba, some organizations in Winnipeg are offering free entertainment for evacuees. That's good news for some trying to find ways to pass time while they're out of their homes, like Maximus Ross, an evacuee from Pimicikamak Cree Nation who's been in Winnipeg, about 530 kilometres south of his home community, for over a week. "All we do is stand around here when there's nothing to do," said Ross. "I just sleep, go on my phone." Kevin Hunter, a vice-president with the YMCA of Winnipeg, said his organization is among those trying to help give evacuees something to do in the city. The YMCA is offering free admission for evacuees at its four Winnipeg community hubs. Those locations include pools, recreation facilities, fitness areas and gymnasiums for all ages. Hours of operation and other information for those locations can be found here. "[We] hope we can help as many people as we can," said Hunter. If possible, those going to the YMCA should bring photo identification with them, he said, but "we understand that things are happening fast, so if that's not available that's OK." A Red Cross registration card or other form of identification could be used as well. Hunter said the YMCA is also working with other community groups to receive donations of things like swimsuits and towels that evacuees can use on-site. He added that residents can drop off donations of essential supplies at the YMCA community hubs. As of Thursday, more than 18,000 evacuees have registered with the Red Cross, the province said in a fire bulletin earlier this week, with 28 active wildfires burning in the province as of Friday. The province also said as of Friday, eligible evacuees can apply for support through its wildfire incidental support program. To qualify, evacuees must be permanent Manitoba residents, have a primary residence in a community or First Nation with a mandatory evacuation, and be registered with the Canadian Red Cross, which can be done online or by calling 1-800-863-6582 (toll-free) between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Manitobans evacuated under a mandatory order are eligible to receive $34 per day for everyone age 13 and older and $27 per day for children 12 and under. More information about the support program can be found on the province's website. The Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq is also opening its doors to offer evacuees "a little bit of a reprieve and some creative inspiration … [and the opportunity] to get out and think about anything else," said Katryna Barske, public relations officer with the gallery. Barske said identification is not required, and those coming to the downtown gallery can simply tell the front desk they are an evacuee to get free admission. That offer will stand indefinitely, Barske added. The gallery, located at 300 Memorial Blvd., is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is also offering free admission for evacuees. Visitors should bring proof of address and alert the box office on arrival. The museum, at 85 Israel Asper Way at The Forks, is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Assiniboine Park and Zoo also donated several passes for evacuated families, but the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said in a social media post all of those passes have been claimed. It said if more passes become available, it will post that information. WATCH | Winnipeg organizations offer free admission for evacuees: Winnipeg venues offer up free entertainment for wildfire evacuees. 18 hours ago Duration 1:39 As days turn into weeks for some wildfire evacuees in Manitoba, boredom is starting to creep in. People could be displaced for weeks or months to come, so some organizations in Winnipeg are offering up free entertainment in a display of hospitality for the evacuees from northern Manitoba. Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
U.S. ambassador says Canadians facing device searches, detainment 'not a pattern'
The U.S. ambassador to Canada is pushing back on Ottawa's travel advice, saying his country doesn't search phones at the border and arguing some Americans travelling to Canada are having a tough time. "We welcome Canadians to come in and invest, to spend their hard-earned Canadian dollars at U.S. businesses," U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday. "If a Canadian has had a disappointing experience coming into the United States, I'm not denying that it happened, but I'm saying it's an isolated event and it is not a pattern." In April, Ottawa updated its advice to Canadians travelling to the United States to warn them about the possibility they might be detained if denied entry. "Expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices," reads the new guidance. There have been reports of Canadians facing intensified scrutiny at the border, having phones searched and, in some cases, being detained. WATCH | Canadian visits to U.S. plummet over fears of new security measures: Canadian visits to U.S. plummet over fear of harsh new security measures 2 months ago Duration 2:08 Canadians are making fewer trips to the U.S. over fears about the Trump administration's harsh new security measures, including the heightened possibility of being detained. Statistics Canada says air travel is down 13 per cent, and land travel is down by almost a third. Hoekstra insisted concerns about device searches are not grounded in reality. "Coming to the U.S., that's a decision for the Canadians to make. Searching devices and all of that is not a well-founded fear. We don't do that. America is a welcoming place," he said. Americans also scrutinized at border: Hoekstra He said some Americans have expressed similar concerns about Canada. "I've heard that from Americans coming into Canada as well, OK? Saying, 'You know, we've not received a warm reception when we've gotten to Canadian customs,'" he said. When asked if these reports from American travellers involve arbitrary phone searches and lengthy detainment, Hoekstra said there are consular cases of Americans complaining to the embassy about the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). "We've said, 'OK this may have been an isolated event. There may have been a Canadian border person who was having a bad day, and thought they'd take it out on, you know, somebody across the border,'" he said. In a statement, the CBSA said its officers follow a code of conduct and the federal ethics code that both require them to treat everyone equally, and that the agency investigates any complaints of mistreatment. "Employees are expected to conduct themselves in a way that upholds the values of integrity, respect and professionalism at all times," wrote spokesperson Karine Martel. "Treating people with respect, dignity and fairness is fundamental to our border services officers' relationship with the public and a key part of this is serving all travellers in a non-discriminatory way." Hoekstra said travel to the U.S. is up to individuals. "If you decide that you're not going to come down or whatever, that's your decision and you're missing an opportunity. There are great things to see in America," Hoekstra said. He also noted the case of CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, who recently said she prepared to visit the U.S. last month as if she was "going to North Korea" — with a "burner phone" that didn't carry any personal information — only to experience a warm welcome. "It's like, [let's] get past the rhetoric and let's look at the real experiences that people are having here," Hoekstra said. Airlines have been cutting flights between Canada and the U.S. due to a slump in demand, and Flight Centre Travel Group Canada reported a nearly 40 per cent drop in flights between the two countries year-over-year in February. A survey in early May conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies found 52 per cent of respondents feel that "it is no longer safe for all Canadians travelling to the United States," with 29 per cent disagreeing and 19 per cent saying they were unsure. Roughly the same proportion said they personally feel unwelcome in the U.S. 2SLGBTQ+ groups have opted against attending World Pride events in Washington and United Nations events in New York, citing scrutiny at the border as the Trump administration scales back protections for transgender and non-binary people.
