Canadian national sentenced and deported for illegally reentering U.S.

GREAT FALLS - A Canadian woman who illegally reentered the U.S. after she was deported in 2023 was sentenced today to time served following her April 2026 arrest and will be deported again, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

Eva Fehr, 24, pleaded guilty in May 2026 to one count of illegal reentry after deportation.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The government alleged in court documents that Fehr and a companion illegally drove across the border into Montana without possessing the necessary documentation.

At 6:33 a.m. April 19, 2026, a border sensor was tripped when a gray 2002 Chevy Avalanche crossed into Montana. A U.S. Border Patrol agent tracked down the truck and pulled it over north of Hinsdale about an hour later. The agent verified that the Avalanche had failed to cross the border into Montana at a proper Port of Entry.

Inside the truck were Fehr and a companion, and both admitted they were not U.S. citizens and had no immigration documents authorizing them to live, work, or travel in the United States. The two were taken into custody at the Malta Border Patrol Station, where Fehr acknowledged she was a Canadian citizen without the legal documentation needed to be in the U.S.

Fehr previously had been deported in October 2023 after a warrant was issued for overstaying her visa.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the investigation.