New York Woman Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Illegal Aliens from Canada
A New York woman pleaded guilty to smuggling four illegal aliens from India into the U.S. via the northern border, with prior and subsequent smuggling attempts documented.
Stacey Taylor, 43, of Plattsburgh, New York, admitted in federal court to conspiring to smuggle illegal aliens from India into the United States across the northern border. On January 20, 2025, Border Patrol agents stopped her vehicle near Churubusco, New York, and found four men—three from India and one from Canada—inside without inspection. The men had entered the U.S. on foot through a wooded area before Taylor picked them up and drove them further inland.
Investigators later examined Taylor’s cellphone, which contained coordinates and instructions for picking up the aliens, as well as text messages indicating her involvement in multiple prior smuggling events. After her January arrest, she was stopped again in August 2025 during a suspected smuggling venture and implicated once more in September 2025. Prosecutors allege she expected payment for her role in facilitating illegal entry.
Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in alien smuggling and four counts of alien smuggling for profit. She faces a statutory minimum of five years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for December 3. A federal judge will determine the final sentence based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The case was investigated by HSI Rouses Point, CBP, and U.S. Border Patrol Champlain Station, with additional support from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit and CBP’s International Interdiction Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffry Stitt and Deputy Chief Rami Badawy are prosecuting the case under the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.