Head of human smuggling plot gets 10 years after Indian family of 4 froze to death on US-Canada border
What prosecutors say
Kirkpatrick told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing that as a lifelong Minnesotan, she would not have gone out in that weather. “But the defendants sent into that weather 11 migrants — Indian nationals who were not dressed appropriately, were ill-prepared for the weather they faced that night,” she said.
Kirkpatrick pointed out that the family who died had walked for hours trying to find Shand, who had been sent by Patel.
“These defendants knew it was cold. In fact, they knew it was life-threatening cold,” she said. “They didn’t care. What they cared about was money, and their callous indifference to the value of human life cost a family of four their lives.”
What defense attorneys say
Patel’s attorney, Leinenweber, said his client will appeal but declined to speculate on what grounds.
“He had kind of resigned himself to the fact that the sentence would be longer than he had hoped,” the attorney said. “And he’s not happy with it. But he does wish to appeal and take advantage of his rights.”
Shand’s attorney, federal defender Aaron Morrison, did not talk to reporters afterward.
Morrison acknowledged in a presentencing filing that Shand has “a level of culpability” but argued that his role was limited — that he was just a taxi driver who needed money to support his wife and six children.
“Mr. Shand was on the outside of the conspiracy, he did not plan the smuggling operation, he did not have decision making authority, and he did not reap the huge financial benefits as the real conspirators did,” Morrison wrote.
Human smuggling at the northern border
A top regional US Customs and Border Protection official told reporters Wednesday that human smuggling along the border in the area has been holding “fairly steady,” with no sharp increases or decreases.
“We hope that this is a strong message, and especially during the inclement months,” said Michael Hanson, the acting chief patrol agent for the Grand Forks, North Dakota, sector, which covers North Dakota and Minnesota. “You know, there very well could have been 11 deaths associated with this event.”
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