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US judge denies new trial for duo in human smuggling case involving death of four Indians – The Times of India

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US judge denies new trial for duo in human smuggling case involving death of four Indians – The Times of India


Steve Shand (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP) , Harshkumar Patel (Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

A federal court justice, on Tuesday, denied applications for fresh trials of two individuals found guilty on charges related to human smuggling. The case involved the tragic deaths of four Indians who died of extreme cold while attempting to cross from Canada into Minnesota during a severe storm in 2022.
US District Judge John Tunheim upheld the guilty verdicts delivered last November against Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Anthony Shand. The ruling enables the defendants to pursue their cases in a federal appeals court after their sentencing on May 7.
Defence counsel for both accused contested the evidence sufficiency. “But this was not a close case,” Tunheim stated.
The judge determined adequate evidence existed for the jury’s guilty verdict on all counts against both Shand and Patel. He noted that whilst the late disclosure of a Border Patrol agent’s previous disciplinary action was concerning, it minimally affected the overall case. He also maintained his decision for a joint trial.
The prosecution presented evidence that Patel, an Indian citizen known as “Dirty Harry,” and Shand, an American resident of Florida, participated in an advanced illegal operation facilitating Indian entries into the US. The prosecution had earlier claimed Shand remained in his vehicle, anticipating the arrival of 11 migrants, including members of the Patel family, in an isolated location whilst temperatures plummeted to minus 38 degrees Celsius.
The deceased victims from Dingucha village in Gujarat included 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben (mid-30s), their daughter Vihangi (11), and son Dharmik (3). The family, both parents being schoolteachers, perished north of the Manitoba-Minnesota border on Jan. 19, 2022. Seven others in their group survived the journey. Patel, being a common Indian surname, held no relation to the defendant.
The most serious charges carry potential 20-year prison terms. However, federal sentencing follows complex guidelines, and prosecutors have yet to announce their recommended sentences.





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U.K. lifts sanctions against some Syrian government agencies and media outlets

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A picture of Bashar al-Assad, damaged by bullets.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The British government said Thursday it was lifting sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities, including government departments and media outlets, to help the country rebuild after President Bashar Assad was toppled from power in a lightning rebel offensive in December.

The U.K. had put the sanctions in place against those who supported Assad’s repressive rule, helped violently suppress civilians and spread misinformation.

“The Syrian people deserve the opportunity to rebuild their country and economy, and a stable Syria is in the U.K.’s national interest,” Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, said in a statement explaining the purpose of lifting the sanctions.

Syria’s new leaders have struggled to begin rebuilding the country’s decimated economy and infrastructure after nearly 14 years of civil war. The new authorities in Damascus have made a push for harsh sanctions imposed by western countries on Assad’s government to be lifted, with limited success.

Financial sanctions and asset freezes were lifted on several government agencies, including the ministries of interior and defense, the Foreign Office said.

Sanctions were also dropped against the General Organization of Radio and TV, a state-run agency that allegedly spread propaganda for Assad and incited violence against civilians. The Foreign Office said it also lifted sanctions against Al Watan, a newspaper, Cham Press TV, and Sama TV, for spreading misinformation.

Sanctions imposed against Assad and associates remain in place and legislation was amended to allow the former leader and others to be held accountable for atrocities committed against Syrians.

In March, the U.K. dropped sanctions against two dozen Syrian businesses, mostly banks and oil companies.

The Trump administration in the U.S. has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, an Islamist former insurgent who led the offensive that ousted Assad. The militant group al-Sharaa led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, remains a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, and the sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad remain in place.

However, Washington has eased some restrictions. The U.S. Treasury in January issued a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.

The European Union, meanwhile, has begun to ease some energy and transport sanctions and banking restrictions against Syria, suspending measures targeting oil, gas and electricity as well as transport, including the aviation sector.



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US asks for home addresses, biometrics of H-1B applicants first time ever: ‘Highly unusual’ – The Times of India

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USCIS is seeking home address and biometrics as additional data from H-1B applicants, if there is any ‘adverse information’ about the applicant.

In a fresh trouble for H-1B applicants, federal immigrant authorities are asking for home addresses and biometrics for H-1B and employment-based immigrant petitions, which immigrant lawyers think is highly unusual, as biometrics are not generally required. Immigrant authorities are issuing Requests for Evidence (RFE) for this data.
A Request for Evidence is a formal notice issued by the USCIS when additional documents are required for evaluating a petition. It can not be seen as a denial but a standard part of the process if there is any gap in the applications. According to USCIS guidelines, an RFE should clearly outline which eligibility criteria have not been met, explain why existing materials are insufficient, and suggest what additional evidence could help meet the requirements.
These requests are quite common if there is a missing documentation, inconsistencies in project details or a lack of supporting evidence.

Is it targeting H-1Bs amid crackdown on immigrants?

Immigration law firm Goel & Anderson’s Vic Goel told Forbes this is highly unusual because biometrics are not typically required for these case types.”The RFEs also fail to explain the nature of the adverse information, leaving employers and attorneys in the dark. It appears that DHS [Department of Homeland Security] may be using AI tools to flag individuals based on undisclosed data, possibly from social media or other government databases.”
“We have encountered potentially adverse information related to the beneficiary. To continue processing your application or petition, we required an updated address for the beneficiary so that we may collect biometric data,” a USCIS adjudicator wrote in a Request for Evidence, according to Forbes.
The “adverse information” part goes along with the crackdown on immigrants by the Trump administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said making America safe means revoking visas when threats arise. “US visa holders should know in no uncertain terms that the US government’s rigorous security vetting does not end once a visa is granted,” Rubio said.





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Israeli airstrike kills at least 44 people in Gaza, hits a police station

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A view of destroyed machinery at the site of an Israeli strike, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, April 22, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

An Israeli airstrike hit a police station in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday (April 24, 2025), killing at least 10 people, local health authorities said, and Israel’s military said it had struck a command centre of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad groups.

Medics said two Israeli missiles hit the police station, located near a market, which led to the wounding of dozens of people in addition to the 10 deaths. The identities of those killed were not immediately clear.

The Israeli military said in a statement apparently referring to the same incident, that it attacked a command and control centre operated by Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad groups in Jabalia, which militants used to plan and execute attacks against Israeli forces.

It accused Palestinian militant groups of exploiting civilians and civil properties for military purposes, an allegation Hamas and other factions deny.

Local health authorities said Israeli strikes have killed at least 34 other people in separate airstrikes across the enclave, bringing Thursday’s death toll to 44.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the Durra Children’s Hospital in Gaza City had become non-operational, a day after an Israeli strike hit the upper part of the building, damaging the intensive care unit and destroying the facility’s solar power panel system.

No one was killed. There was no Israeli comment on the incident.

Gaza’s health system has been devastated by Israel’s 18-month-old military campaign, launched in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas in 2023, putting many of the territory’s hospitals out of action, killing medics, and reducing crucial supplies.

Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to the Gaza health authorities, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone of Gaza’s land.

Efforts by Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have so far failed to reconcile disputes between the two warring parties, Israel and Hamas.

The attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023 killed 1,200 people, and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza. Since then, more than 51,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to health officials.



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