Stacey Taylor, a 42-year-old resident of Plattsburgh, New York, was arraigned on Monday following an indictment by a federal grand jury in Albany. She is accused of participating in an international conspiracy to smuggle individuals, mainly from India, into the United States across the northern border.
Court documents state that U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped Taylor’s vehicle near Churubusco, New York, in the early hours of January 20. Inside her car were four foreign nationals—three from India and one from Canada—who had reportedly crossed the U.S.-Canadian border illegally without inspection during freezing weather conditions. Authorities later reviewed Taylor’s cellphone and found text messages suggesting she had been involved in other smuggling attempts in previous days. Since her arrest in January 2025, Taylor was allegedly involved in additional suspected smuggling activities as recently as September 2025.
The indictment charges Taylor with conspiring to engage in alien smuggling and four counts of alien smuggling for profit; three counts are classified as second or subsequent offenses. If convicted, each count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison for alien smuggling for profit, with further penalties possible for repeat offenses.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and John A. Sarcone III, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced the charges.
The case is being investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at Rouse’s Point and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), specifically the U.S. Border Patrol Champlain Station. Additional support came from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington D.C., CBP’s International Interdiction Task Force, and other agencies.
The investigation resulted from coordinated efforts by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which is focused on targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. JTFA brings together personnel from several U.S. Attorneys’ Offices—including those along the southwest border as well as offices covering regions such as Vermont and Florida—and various components within the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division like the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP). Law enforcement contributions also come from DHS, FBI, DEA, among others.
To date, JTFA reports over 425 domestic and international arrests related to alien smuggling leadership or facilitation roles; more than 375 convictions; upwards of 325 significant jail sentences; and substantial asset forfeitures resulting from its operations.
Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of HRSP and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt for the Northern District of New York are prosecuting this case.
According to officials: “This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
It was also emphasized that: “An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
