American sentenced for trying to smuggle British husband into U.S. from B.C.
Published 10:34 am Thursday, January 8, 2026
A Californian woman was sentenced to six months of probation for attempting to smuggle her husband — a Great Britain citizen — into the United States from the Roosville border crossing south of Jaffray in the East Kootenays last spring.
Tracy Routh Lautenslager, 54, pleaded guilty in August 2025 to one count of conspiracy to bring aliens into the U.S. at a location other than a designated port of entry.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the proceedings, delivering the probation sentence on Jan. 6.
In court documents, U.S. prosecutors allege that on April 1, 2025, a vehicle entered the United States through the border point of entry at Roosville, Montana.
The vehicle was operated by the Lautenslager, an American citizen. She was admitted to the U.S. and proceeded to the Swisher Lake area near Lake Koocanusa.
The United States Border Patrol encountered her driving around the area.
Around that same time, the Border Patrol was alerted to a lone male walking across the international boundary line from Canada to the U.S. They responded and searched for the man but were unable to locate him and believed he returned to Canada.
However, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) apprehended the man after they found him walking around and seemingly lost.
They escorted him to the Roosville border point of entry to be identified and processed. The man, Lautenslager’s husband, was identified as a citizen of Great Britain who does not have any lawful status in the U.S.
On suspicions of smuggling, Lautenslager was denied entry back to Canada and returned to the U.S., where she was interviewed by law enforcement.
She told authorities she and her husband planned to circumvent the immigration process and avoid the point of entry because he did not have legal status in the U.S.
She said the plan was to drop him off at a location on the Canadian side of the border, drive into the U.S., and then pick him up.
Lautenslager’s cellular phone was collected and searched, which was found to contain text messages between her and her husband discussing logistics as the conspiracy was unfolding.