Seven Apprehended On The Northern Border In Vermont, Including Child Smuggler

Friday, January 2, 2026, 7:00 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

BURLINGTON, VT.- First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher reported that between Tuesday, December 23, 2025, and Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol apprehended seven illegal immigrants on the Canadian Border in Vermont and formally charged all seven with federal immigration offenses.

     Joneyker Rafael Ramos Guillen, 20, of Venezuela, was criminally charged by federal complaint with Transporting Aliens into the United States who Lacked Official Authorization to Enter. 

     Byron Guillermo Gonzabay Giron, 47, of Ecuador, Lixia Nong, 23, of China, Zhongyue, 62, of Portugal, and a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor from Brazil, were each charged by federal criminal complaint with one count of Illegal Entry into the United States. 

     According to the charging information filed in the criminal complaints, on December 23, 2025, at around 7:00 a.m., Border Patrol detected an unlawful entry into the United States. A Border Patrol Agent responded to the area and, from signs in the snow, determined that around five people had traveled southbound. The Border Patrol Agent followed the trail and discovered a group of people in the woods walking toward the Village of North Troy, Vermont.

     When the Agent directed the group to stop, they all fled in different directions. Over the next hour, Border Patrol Agents tracked and pursued five individuals, ultimately apprehending Ramos Guillen, Gonzabay Giron, Nong Xiang, and the unaccompanied minor.

     Two additional unlawful crossings occurred on December 25, 2025. Just shortly after midnight on Christmas morning, Benjamin Paul Sheldon Schooner, 35, of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, crossed the international border on foot in front of the Haskell Library in Derby Line, Vermont. At approximately 6:45 p.m., Abelardo Gamboa-Penaloza, 30, of Mexico, crossed the international border on foot near Lee Street in Derby Line, Vermont. Both Schooner and Gamboa-Penaloza were each charged by federal criminal complaint with Illegal Entry into the United States.

     On December 29, 2025, Guillen and Schooner appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle, who ordered that both be detained pending future court proceedings in Federal Court in Burlington, Vermont. Gonzabay-Giron and Gamboa-Penaloza appeared before Judge Doyle on December 30, 2025, and pleaded guilty and were sentenced to time served and were each remanded to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be removed from the United States.

     Nong and Xiang each made their initial appearances on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, and were each ordered detained pending future court proceedings.

     First Assistant U.S. Attorney Drescher commended the investigative efforts of U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations for the apprehensions and criminal charges.

“The rules of the federal court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”