US Canada Border: A Gujarati family trying to enter America from Canada died in 2022 due to freezing in the cold. Now two accused will be prosecuted in this case from November 18. Jagdish Patel, his wife and their two young children were part of a group of 11 Indians who were trying to enter the US from the Canadian border.
Actually, the incident happened two years ago. In January 2022, Patel was hiking through fields in freezing weather to reach a van driver in Minnesota, as temperatures dropped to minus 36 Fahrenheit (minus 38 Celsius). Due to which an Indian family died tragically in the snow while crossing the US-Canada border. Canada Border Police had told that all four are members of the same family. The deceased Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, Vaishaliben Jagdish Kumar Patel, Vihangi Jagdish Kumar Patel and religious Jagdish Kumar Patel were residents of Dingucha village in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat.
The trial against both will start from November 18.
Two people accused of smuggling on both sides of the border are on trial. Harsh Kumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed “Dirty Harry”, was handling the goods from Canada, while Steve Shand, Patel’s driver, was handling the goods on the US side. The trial of both men is scheduled to begin on Monday. Both are accused of being part of a human trafficking gang, which is feeding the rapidly increasing population of Indians living illegally in America. Both have declared themselves innocent.
More than 90 thousand people arrested while crossing the border
Despite such incidents, the dream of a better life in America is attracting thousands of Indians, especially the people of Gujarat. US Customs and Border Protection (US-CBP) data for fiscal year 2024 shows that 90,415 Indians were arrested while trying to enter the US illegally through Canada and Mexico. Almost half of these were from Gujarat.