Mexican man arrested for attempting to smuggle a family into U.S. across Niagara River on rubber raft

U.S. Border Patrol agents have arrested two men and one woman after they entered America by crossing the Niagara River from Canada in a rubber raft.

On March 15, the people involved were spotted on infrared camera inflating a raft on the Canadian shoreline at Boyers Creek, says the CBP. (Boyer’s Creek is a tributary near Niagara Falls, Ontario, that feeds into the Niagara River.)

“The subjects then boarded the raft and began crossing the upper Niagara River, heading to the United States shoreline.”

Border agents initially found one man in the raft near the U.S. side, and subsequently discovered an Irish man, U.K. woman and their infant hidden behind a nearby tree. All four were taken into custody.

The agents determined the operator of the raft was a Mexican national, Andres Carrillo-Hernandez.

He was charged him with human smuggling, unlawful entry into the U.S. and child endangerment.

The Irish man was charged with illegally re-entering the United States. He had been deported in June 2025, says the CBP. He was also found to be wanted in Rhode Island on felony assault charges and will be extradited there, following the prosecution of his federal immigration charges.

The woman and her infant were processed and removed to Canada.

“Crossing the border illegally is dangerous under any circumstances, but taking an infant across the freezing Niagara River in a small raft is especially reckless,” said Acting Chief Patrol Agent, James D’Amato, in a press release. “This kind of risk endangers not just the adults, but the life of a very young child and the Border Patrol agents who put their lives at risk every day securing our nation’s borders.”

Carrillo-Hernandez’s smuggling charge s alone carry a mandatory minimum of three years, maximum 10 years in prison.

He admitted to the agents that he had been paid approximately $2,000 to transport the two adults and child, via raft, from the Canadian shoreline to the United States. No one involved in the incident had authorization to enter the United States.

Carrillo-Hernandez made an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate and was held pending a detention hearing.

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