Queens, New York Man Sentenced to 18 Months for Human Smuggling

Rutland, Vermont - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont stated that on January 9, 2025, Luis Fernando Barragan-Palacios, 29, of Queens, New York, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier to a term of 18 months' imprisonment. The Court did not impose supervised release because Barragan-Palacios, originally of Oaxaca, Mexico, is expected to be deported after imprisonment. Barragan-Palacios previously pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to transport people who had entered the United States illegally.

According to court records, Barragan-Palacios completed approximately 30 smuggling trips, shuttling nearly 100 migrants who entered the country illegally from the Canadian border into Vermont, to the New York City area between August 2023 and January 2024, receiving approximately $500,000 in proceeds. In January 2024, authorities arrested Barragan-Palacios after he failed to yield to a marked Border Patrol vehicle and initiated a high-speed pursuit in wintry road conditions along the Canadian border, reaching speeds up to 85 mph, with six migrants lying down in the bed of his rented pickup truck or seated unbelted in the truck's cab.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the United States Border Patrol.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Lasher and Colin Owyang. Barragan-Palacios was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Barclay Johnson.