New Jersey Man Receives 18 Months for Smuggling Irish Nationals Across Vermont-Canada Border

A federal judge in Vermont sentenced Brian J. Murphy, 42, of New Jersey, to 18 months in prison on May 8, 2026, for transporting two Irish nationals who had entered the United States unlawfully.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced the sentence in a Department of Justice release. Murphy pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of transporting aliens who entered in violation of law. The two Irish citizens had crossed the border illegally near Highgate Springs, Vermont, before Murphy picked them up and drove them south.

Scope of the case centers on a single smuggling trip involving two individuals. Murphy faces an additional two years of supervised release after prison. He must also forfeit $2,500, the amount he received for the transport, per the plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont.

The sentence changes Murphy’s legal status from pretrial release to immediate incarceration at a facility to be designated by the Bureau of Prisons. The 18-month term begins upon designation and transfer. Upon release he enters supervised release with standard conditions plus restrictions on international travel and contact with the two Irish nationals.

Downstream effects include mandatory collection of the $2,500 forfeiture by the U.S. Marshals Service within 30 days of judgment. The case also requires the two Irish citizens, already in removal proceedings, to face expedited deportation hearings now that the transporter’s criminal case has concluded.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement must coordinate with Vermont federal prosecutors to ensure any future testimony or evidence from the Irish nationals is preserved before their removal. The conviction further counts toward the Department of Justice’s border enforcement statistics for the Northern Border, which recorded 1,847 alien-smuggling prosecutions in fiscal year 2025.

This marks the second sentencing in the District of Vermont this year for transportation of aliens who entered unlawfully from Canada. The original complaint against Murphy was filed in September 2025 after Border Patrol agents stopped the vehicle south of the border crossing and identified the passengers’ lack of valid entry documents.

The Department of Justice has pursued 14 similar Northern Border smuggling cases since October 2024 under statutes 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) and (a)(1)(B)(i).