Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have opened a trial against Harshkumar Patel and Steve Shand, charged with smuggling Indian migrants into the US illegally. The operation is linked to the deaths of an Indian family,

Two men are accused of helping illegally smuggle Indian nationals across the U.S.-Canada border and into Minnesota, including four members of an Indian family who froze to death in 2022.

Federal prosecutors plan to argue at a Minnesota trial that two men were part of a criminal network stretching from India to Canada that smuggled families seeking better lives in the United States.

A long-awaited trial in Minnesota is scheduled to begin Monday with jury selection for two men accused of helping smuggle people across the U.S.-Canada border, including four members of an Indian family who froze to death in Manitoba as they tried to make it across in blizzard conditions.

Experts say illegal immigration from India is driven by everything from political repression to a dysfunctional American immigration system that can take years, if not decades, to navigate legally