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Breaking: Second defendant arrested in major Vermont smuggling case

U.S. Border Patrol finds farm worker in Lancaster, N.H.

By Michael Donoghue

Vermont News First

A three-time removed illegal immigrant has been arrested as part of an international alien smuggling conspiracy operating in Vermont, authorities said Wednesday.

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Armando Paulino Estudillo, 35, in Lancaster, N.H. as part of a smuggling conspiracy that led to the arrest of a leader with Migrant Justice in Burlington last week.

The federal agents brought Paulino Estudillo, who works as a farm hand in New Hampshire, to Burlington for his initial court appearance before Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle on Wednesday afternoon.

Veteran defense lawyer Kevin Henry said in court he would not oppose the government’s detention motion for the time being, but indicated they could return with a proposed release plan for Paulino Estudillo.

Besides his three removals from the United States, Paulino Estudillo has two criminal convictions for unlawful entry, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Banker said in his detention motion.

“The Defendant has been repeatedly warned about illegally entering the United States. He is nevertheless present in the United States despite those warnings, which shows a disrespect for the law,” Banker wrote.

“And given this history, the Defendant may be subject to criminal prosecution on another immigration-related charge in the jurisdiction where he was residing. Therefore, the Defendant has a strong incentive to flee, few if any ties to Vermont, and a track record of failing to abide by conditions governing his conduct,” the prosecutor noted.

Federal court records in Arizona show Paulino Estudillo pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally entering the country and was sentenced to 62 days in federal prison.

Vermont News First could not locate the second criminal conviction or the removal orders Wednesday evening. They were not specified in any of the court filings.

During his brief hearing before Doyle, Paulino Estudillo pleaded not guilty to two felony charges in the indictment filed in February.

He is charged with conspiring with Jose Ignacio De La Cruz De La Rosa, 30, recently of Burlington, who was arrested last week and a third suspect, whose name has been redacted in the 9-count indictment.

De La Cruz, a leader with Migrant Justice — a non-profit advocacy group — pleaded not guilty to the 9 felony charges last week.

The indictment charges Paulino Estudillo and De La Cruz with bringing an alien, identified only as “Y.G.F.” into the country illegally between April 8, 2025 and April 19, 2025 when there was no authorization.

The indictment noted De La Cruz, who uses the name “Nacho,” was involved in the smuggling operation “for the purpose of private financial gain.”

The indictment notes that five of the nine felony charges against De La Cruz and the third unnamed defendant involve obtaining false identity documents through the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles between March 17, 2024 and May 27, 2025.

A sixth count involves De La Cruz and the third defendant conspiring with others known and unknown to the grand jury to produce false driver’s licenses and to send the documents through the U.S. mail.

De La Cruz is due to have a court hearing on Thursday afternoon on the motion by Banker, the federal prosecutor, to detain the defendant pending trial.

De La Cruz was detained during the summer of 2025 in Richford as part of a smuggling operation, court records show. He was later released.

With the new indictment, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested him as he arrived at work at New Frameworks, a construction company on Morse Drive in Essex last Thursday morning, officials said.

De La Cruz had worked earlier as a farm laborer in Vermont, but is now listed as a carpenter, records show.

“The nine-count indictment alleges that between November of 2022 and June of 2025, De La Cruz De La Rosa smuggled people across international borders and fraudulently obtained Vermont identification documents for people living outside Vermont,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt said last week.

They include charges of obtaining documents fraudulently from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles.

The indictment said the human smuggling was for financial gain and that the postal service was used to send bogus documents across state lines.

De La Cruz reportedly participated in a multi-year conspiracy to illegally bring aliens to the U.S. and to transport them within the country in furtherance of their illegal entry, court records note.

De La Cruz also reportedly participated in a multi-year conspiracy to produce identity documents. As a part of the conspiracy case, De La Cruz renewed Vermont driver’s privilege cards for aliens living outside of Vermont, the indictment charges.

He also took learner’s privilege tests on behalf of others. De La Cruz reportedly received $500 per card, court records note.

Ophardt commended the lengthy investigative work into the complex case by the U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations.

The case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Last year De La Cruz and his stepdaughter, Heidi Perez Alfaro, then 18, were living in Milton when the Border Patrol stopped them about noon June 14, 2025 while they said they were delivering meals to farm workers in Richford.

They were uncooperative with Border Patrol Agents, who were forced to break open a window in their vehicle, court records note.

A subsequent sworn affidavit from a veteran Border Patrol Agent elaborated the legal justification, including De La Cruz being linked to possible smuggling efforts. The 18-page affidavit included details about an April 2025 incident that netted six arrests in Richford by the U.S. Border Patrol in Vermont.

The 2025 affidavit also noted De La Cruz was removed from the United States in 2022 at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Del Rio, Texas, but re-entered the country.

The specific details of the removal were limited due to COVID procedures when the Border Patrol was told under President Joe Biden to “catch-and-release” with as little human interaction as possible.

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Breaking: Second defendant arrested in major Vermont smuggling case

U.S. Border Patrol finds farm worker in Lancaster, N.H.

By Michael Donoghue

Vermont News First

A three-time removed illegal immigrant has been arrested as part of an international alien smuggling conspiracy operating in Vermont, authorities said Wednesday.

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Armando Paulino Estudillo, 35, in Lancaster, N.H. as part of a smuggling conspiracy that led to the arrest of a leader with Migrant Justice in Burlington last week.

The federal agents brought Paulino Estudillo, who works as a farm hand in New Hampshire, to Burlington for his initial court appearance before Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle on Wednesday afternoon.

Veteran defense lawyer Kevin Henry said in court he would not oppose the government’s detention motion for the time being, but indicated they could return with a proposed release plan for Paulino Estudillo.

Besides his three removals from the United States, Paulino Estudillo has two criminal convictions for unlawful entry, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Banker said in his detention motion.

“The Defendant has been repeatedly warned about illegally entering the United States. He is nevertheless present in the United States despite those warnings, which shows a disrespect for the law,” Banker wrote.

“And given this history, the Defendant may be subject to criminal prosecution on another immigration-related charge in the jurisdiction where he was residing. Therefore, the Defendant has a strong incentive to flee, few if any ties to Vermont, and a track record of failing to abide by conditions governing his conduct,” the prosecutor noted.

Federal court records in Arizona show Paulino Estudillo pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally entering the country and was sentenced to 62 days in federal prison.

Vermont News First could not locate the second criminal conviction or the removal orders Wednesday evening. They were not specified in any of the court filings.

During his brief hearing before Doyle, Paulino Estudillo pleaded not guilty to two felony charges in the indictment filed in February.

He is charged with conspiring with Jose Ignacio De La Cruz De La Rosa, 30, recently of Burlington, who was arrested last week and a third suspect, whose name has been redacted in the 9-count indictment.

De La Cruz, a leader with Migrant Justice — a non-profit advocacy group — pleaded not guilty to the 9 felony charges last week.

The indictment charges Paulino Estudillo and De La Cruz with bringing an alien, identified only as “Y.G.F.” into the country illegally between April 8, 2025 and April 19, 2025 when there was no authorization.

The indictment noted De La Cruz, who uses the name “Nacho,” was involved in the smuggling operation “for the purpose of private financial gain.”

The indictment notes that five of the nine felony charges against De La Cruz and the third unnamed defendant involve obtaining false identity documents through the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles between March 17, 2024 and May 27, 2025.

A sixth count involves De La Cruz and the third defendant conspiring with others known and unknown to the grand jury to produce false driver’s licenses and to send the documents through the U.S. mail.

De La Cruz is due to have a court hearing on Thursday afternoon on the motion by Banker, the federal prosecutor, to detain the defendant pending trial.

De La Cruz was detained during the summer of 2025 in Richford as part of a smuggling operation, court records show. He was later released.

With the new indictment, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested him as he arrived at work at New Frameworks, a construction company on Morse Drive in Essex last Thursday morning, officials said.

De La Cruz had worked earlier as a farm laborer in Vermont, but is now listed as a carpenter, records show.

“The nine-count indictment alleges that between November of 2022 and June of 2025, De La Cruz De La Rosa smuggled people across international borders and fraudulently obtained Vermont identification documents for people living outside Vermont,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt said last week.

They include charges of obtaining documents fraudulently from the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles.

The indictment said the human smuggling was for financial gain and that the postal service was used to send bogus documents across state lines.

De La Cruz reportedly participated in a multi-year conspiracy to illegally bring aliens to the U.S. and to transport them within the country in furtherance of their illegal entry, court records note.

De La Cruz also reportedly participated in a multi-year conspiracy to produce identity documents. As a part of the conspiracy case, De La Cruz renewed Vermont driver’s privilege cards for aliens living outside of Vermont, the indictment charges.

He also took learner’s privilege tests on behalf of others. De La Cruz reportedly received $500 per card, court records note.

Ophardt commended the lengthy investigative work into the complex case by the U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations.

The case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Last year De La Cruz and his stepdaughter, Heidi Perez Alfaro, then 18, were living in Milton when the Border Patrol stopped them about noon June 14, 2025 while they said they were delivering meals to farm workers in Richford.

They were uncooperative with Border Patrol Agents, who were forced to break open a window in their vehicle, court records note.

A subsequent sworn affidavit from a veteran Border Patrol Agent elaborated the legal justification, including De La Cruz being linked to possible smuggling efforts. The 18-page affidavit included details about an April 2025 incident that netted six arrests in Richford by the U.S. Border Patrol in Vermont.

The 2025 affidavit also noted De La Cruz was removed from the United States in 2022 at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Del Rio, Texas, but re-entered the country.

The specific details of the removal were limited due to COVID procedures when the Border Patrol was told under President Joe Biden to “catch-and-release” with as little human interaction as possible.