A 27-year-old Mexican citizen has pleaded guilty to piloting a motorized inflatable raft loaded with a man, a woman and a 9-month-old baby across the Niagara River from Canada, landing near West River Road on Grand Island in March. Andres Carrillo-Hernandez admitted he had been paid US$2,000 to ferry the family into the United States, and Border Patrol agents caught up with all four of them near the shoreline shortly after they came ashore.
Federal prosecutors said Carrillo-Hernandez pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara in Buffalo federal court to alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. NewYorkUpstate.com reports that he drove the raft across the river and the U.S.-Canada border under cover of night. Prosecutors said he boarded the raft with his three passengers near Boyers Creek on March 15.
A Night Crossing Ends Near West River Road
Carrillo-Hernandez stayed aboard the raft while his passengers climbed off and continued inland, per the same account, but they didn't get far. Border Patrol agents moved in near West River Road and apprehended the smuggler along with the man, woman and baby shortly after the landing. None of the three passengers were U.S. citizens or nationals, prosecutors said.
Canadian outlet CP24 reported that the family was from the United Kingdom and Ireland and that they, too, were arrested for illegal entry into the U.S. after the crossing. Carrillo-Hernandez admitted to being paid US$2,000 to get the family across the Niagara River, the outlet noted — a fee that now comes with a mandatory minimum of three years behind bars.
What Comes Next in Federal Court
The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of three years in prison and a maximum of 10, CP24 reported. Carrillo-Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 15, 2027, exactly one year after the crossing, before Judge Arcara.
The case lands amid what officials describe as a steady rise in small-raft crossings along the river. Customs and Border Protection told WKBW that it has made nine arrests tied to three separate Niagara River crossing incidents since November, part of what the agency called an uptick in people crossing in small rafts and small boats. CBP also warned that anyone attempting the crossing faces a serious risk of hypothermia, noting that people recovered from rafts have been found completely wet.
A Border Route Drawing More Traffic
The Lewiston police chief told WKBW he had never seen this much activity along the border in nearly 30 years on the job. A separate crossing documented by the St. Catharines Standard quoted the same chief describing it as the fourth illegal river crossing in the preceding two weeks, after four Mexican residents arrived by raft near Youngstown and were met by a vehicle carrying out-of-state plates.
