Episode Details

A shocking twist in the immigration saga: Armando Paulino Estudillo, an undocumented man with a deportation history, admits he paid Migrant Justice leader José Ignacio De La Cruz to smuggle his girlfriend across the Canadian border. In exchange for pleading guilty to one charge, the government drops another—potentially avoiding a 10-year sentence. Though Estudillo won’t testify against De La Cruz, the plea deal could be a major boost for prosecutors. De La Cruz, who remains defiant and not guilty on multiple charges, was arrested after a traffic stop in June 2025, where investigators found his phone linked to smuggling rings and a scheme to forge Vermont driver’s licenses—a program Migrant Justice once championed. The arrest rocked the advocacy group, especially after they’d just rallied against ICE raids. With no further court dates set, this case is heating up, exposing the tangled web of border politics, smuggling, and activism.

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