❓WHAT HAPPENED: A dual citizen of Canada and the U.S. was arrested for his role in a smuggling ring that resulted in the deaths of a family of four and his brother.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Timothy Oakes, 34, and three U.S.-based co-conspirators, Dakota Montour, Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow, and Janet Terrance.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The smuggling occurred in May 2023 near the St. Lawrence River on the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation.

💬KEY QUOTE: “He profited from a human smuggling operation with a singular, cold-hearted aim: making money by bringing illegal aliens into the United States, regardless of the danger to human life involved.” – Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

🎯IMPACT: Oakes faces multiple charges, and the investigation into the transnational smuggling operation continues under “Operation Take Back America.”

A Canadian-American dual citizen, Timothy Oakes, 34, has been arrested for his involvement in a human smuggling operation that left a family of four, including two young children, dead. According to the Justice Department, Oakes was part of a group smuggling migrants across the St. Lawrence River from Canada to New York.

Oakes routinely hosted migrants in his home on the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation, which borders the river, before transporting them across on his boat. In May 2023, he hosted a Romanian family with two small children, aged one and two, before his brother attempted to ferry them across the river, despite warnings of dangerous weather conditions, including high winds and freezing temperatures. The boat capsized, with all five drowning.

“He profited from a human smuggling operation with a singular, cold-hearted aim: making money by bringing illegal aliens into the United States, regardless of the danger to human life involved,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Galeotti added, “Their greed resulted in the deaths of a mother, a father, and two small children, as well as one of the defendants’ own brothers.”

Oakes was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in June while attempting to cross into New York. He has been charged with conspiracy to engage in alien smuggling, four counts of alien smuggling for profit, and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death. His three U.S.-based co-conspirators—Dakota Montour, 31, Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow, 43, and Janet Terrance, 45—have all pleaded guilty.

“Oakes’ arrest comes as part of our nearly two-year-long investigation into a transnational criminal organization responsible for the large-scale smuggling of aliens from Canada into the United States,” said ICE agent Erin Keegan. The investigation, which is ongoing, involves collaboration between American and Canadian agencies and is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a Justice Department initiative launched under the Trump administration to combat illegal immigration and transnational crime.

Since the start of President Donald J. Trump’s second term, illegal border crossings from Canada have plummeted as much as 95 percent, according to a report in April. President Trump has also successfully pressured Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney into introducing a Strong Borders Act in the Canadian legislature to further strengthen action on fentanyl, illegal immigration, and other U.S. priorities.

Image by Lorie Shaull.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.