An Indian citizen living in Ontario was extradited to the U.S. last week to face charges of smuggling migrants across the border.
U.S. Federal prosecutors say the man, 40-year-old Simranjit Singh, lived in Brampton, Ontario, northwest of Toronto.
He appeared in an Albany court to face six counts of alien smuggling for profit, as well as three counts of conspiracy to commit smuggling. Singh has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to court documents filed in Ontario as part of the extradition process, one migrant arrested by U.S. authorities said he paid Singh $35,000 to smuggle him across the border.
Singh is accused of moving people illegally into both countries from Cornwall Island through Akewsasne Mohawk territory. It borders New York, Ontario and Quebec, and straddles the St. Lawrence River.
Singh had lost his refugee claim in Canada, but he could not be deported because he did not have an Indian passport. Lawyers like James Bray acknowledge that fighting extradition to the U.S. is not easy.
“Even if a person is extradited it doesn’t mean that they’re guilty of any offense," Bray said. "It doesn’t mean that they’ve done anything that they’re accused of doing. It just means that the requesting state has managed to meet that extremely low hurdle.”
Singh himself did not fight the extradition process. If convicted, he could spend up to 15 years in prison.
It’s not believed his case is linked to the deaths of eight people last week who were attempting to cross the St. Lawrence into the U.S. from Canada through Akwassasne.