NJ man charged in illegal immigration smuggling operation

🚨9 Irish citizens were taken over the Canadian border by Tyshan Murray

🚨Two of the group were children

🚨Illegal immigration at the Canadian border has spiked in the past 3 years

A New Jersey man was charged with smuggling Irish citizens over the Canadian border into Vermont.

United States Attorney for Vermont Nikolas P. Kerest said a group of nine crossed the border on Drew Road in Richford, Vermont on Sept. 8 after being picked up by an SUV driven by Tyshan Murray, 43, of Union.

Two children were part of the group and drove unrestrained in the rear cargo compartment, officials say.

The Irish citizens got Murray's number from a contact in Canada and arranged for the pickup, according to WWNY TV.

Murray was charged with unlawful transportation and pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Sept. 26. He is being held pending a trial.

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While the southern U.S. border gets most of the attention the border with Canada is the longest land border in the world at 5,550 miles, according to U.S. Customs. There are checkpoints but no fence or barrier. It is considered a "backdoor" illegal entrance to the U.S.

The number of people crossing the Canadian border has spiked in recent years going from 3,698 in fiscal year 2021 to 18,852 so far in FY 2024.

By comparison, there were 2 million illegal crossings at the southern border between Oct. 2023 and Aug. 2024.

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