Calif. woman pleads guilty to conspiracy to smuggle illegal into U.S.

BILLINGS – A California woman accused of conspiring to smuggle her husband, an illegal alien, into the United States admitted to charges, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, Tracy Routh Lautenslager, 53, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States at a location other than a designated port of entry. Lautenslager faces 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for Jan. 6, 2026. Lautenslager was released with conditions pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that on April 1, 2025, a vehicle operated by the defendant entered the United States through the Roosville, Montana Port of Entry, then proceeded to the Swisher Lake area. 

Later that morning, the U.S. Border Patrol was alerted to a lone male walking across the international boundary line from Canada to the United States. Border Patrol responded and searched for the man who entered illegally. However, after searching, they were unable to locate him and believed he returned to Canada.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was able to apprehend the man and escorted him to the Roosville, British Columbia (BC) POE to be identified and processed. The man is the defendant’s husband, a citizen of Great Britain, and has no lawful status in the United States.

Around the same time her husband was apprehended, Lautenslager returned to Canada to look for him. On suspicions of smuggling, she was denied entry and returned to the United States. Once in the United States she was interviewed by law enforcement. 

During the interview, she admitted she and her husband planned to have him circumvent the immigration process and avoid the point of entry because he did not have legal status in the United States. She indicated the plan was to drop her husband off at a location on the Canadian side of the border, drive into the United States, and then pick him up. She admitted that what she attempted to do was wrong.

The defendant’s cellular phone was collected and, pursuant to her consent, was searched. During a review of her phone law enforcement discovered text messages between her and her husband as the conspiracy was unfolding and discussing logistics.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. U.S. Border Patrol conducted the investigation.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).