FERGUS FALLS, Minnesota –

The trial of two men accused of smuggling is expected to be heard soon by a migrant who survived a long walk across the Canada-US border in a blizzard.

Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel are accused of organizing several illegal crossings, from Manitoba to Minnesota, of people from India.

They have pleaded not guilty and their trial is scheduled to last until Friday.

One of the crossings they are accused of organizing saw a family of four freeze as they struggled to walk in snow and wind chills below -30 in January 2022.

Border officials caught seven others that day, one of whom is scheduled to testify as early as today.

Border officials testified that they had seen boot prints in the same area in the weeks leading up to that day — a sign that previous migrant crossings had been successful.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 20, 2024.