Three Chinese citizens charged at Fort Covington with being in US illegally

By BRIAN KELLY
TIMES STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015 AT 2:39 PM

FORT COVINGTON — Two Chinese citizens were charged Tuesday with being in the United States illegally and a third Chinese national faces allegations that he unlawfully transported the undocumented aliens.

Wanxiang Chen is charged in U.S. District Court, Plattsburgh, with illegally transporting aliens, while Kang Shen Shi and Lili Cai are charged with entering the country while eluding examination and inspection by immigration officers, according to documents filed Thursday with the court.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Mr. Chen’s matter, U.S. Border Patrol agents in Massena were notified at about noon Tuesday of a suspicious vehicle traveling westbound on Route 37 toward the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation. Agents in an unmarked patrol vehicle followed the vehicle to a gas station in Hogansburg, where the operator left the trunk open, allowing agents to see that there were no other occupants of the vehicle.

The operator then drove to the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino and parked for a short time and then drove toward the casino’s main entrance before leaving the casino area. As it drove on Route 37, agents were able to observe there were now multiple people in the vehicle, according to the complaint. That information was forwarded to an agent in a marked patrol car, who observed the passengers “duck their heads down” as the vehicle passed the agent’s location.

Based on that, the agent stopped the vehicle on Route 37 in Fort Covington.

It is alleged that both Mr. Shi and Ms. Cai claimed to be Chinese citizens and admitted entering the United States illegally. Record checks at border crossings allegedly revealed neither had entered the country through a designated port of entry. The pair and Mr. Chen were then arrested.

Mr. Chen allegedly admitted that he was solicited by a man from a travel agency to drive from New York City and pick up two people at the casino. He also allegedly told agents that it was the fourth time within the last month that he had picked people up at the casino and that he was paid $900 for each trip.

According to court documents, a check of immigration records revealed that Mr. Chen is a Chinese citizen who possesses no documents allowing him to be in the United States. Mr. Chen applied for asylum in the United States in 2013, but the application was withdrawn May 15.

All three are being held in federal marshal’s custody pending detention hearings.

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2015...migrants.html/