U.S. Attorneys for Southwestern Border Districts Charge More than 990 Illegal Aliens with Immigration-Related Crimes During the Fourth week in April as part of Operation Take Back America.

Since the inauguration of President Trump, the Department of Justice is playing a critical role in Operation Take back America, a nationwide initiative to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from 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).

Last week, the U.S. Attorneys for Arizona, Central California, Southern California, New Mexico, Southern Texas, and Western Texas charged more than 990 defendants with criminal violations of U.S. immigration laws.

The Southern District of Texas filed 237 cases in immigration and security-related matters. As part of those cases, 124 face allegations of illegally reentering the country with the majority having felony convictions such as narcotics, firearms or sexual offenses, prior immigration crimes and more. A total of 106 people face charges of illegally entering the country, five cases involve various instances of human smuggling with the remainder relating to assault of an officer or other immigration-related crimes. As part of the cases filed this week, Carlos Verduco-Muniz faces charges of assault on a federal officer. He allegedly punched a Texas Military Department Specialist in the face during a pursuit to apprehend him near Rio Grande City. The charges allege he is a citizen and national of Mexico who was illegally present in the United States at the time of the assault.

The Western District of Texas filed 344 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases. Among the new cases, Henry Cruz-Lemas, an illegal alien and a Honduran national previously convicted of aggravated kidnapping in September 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison. Cruz-Lemas was arrested on April 18 during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE ERO) investigation in San Antonio. He is charged with one count of illegal reentry of an alien. Jose Angel Escarcega-Briones, an illegal alien from Mexico, was found approximately four miles west of the Tornillo Port of Entry. Border Patrol Agents determined that he did not have immigration documents allowing him to be in the United States legally and that he has previously been removed from the United States five times. He has three prior convictions for illegal reentry as well as a federal drug trafficking conviction.

The District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 232 defendants. Specifically, the United States filed 110 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 110 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed nine cases against 11 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona. The United States also charged one individual with failing to register, as required by law.

The Southern District of California filed 134 border-related cases this week, including charges of transportation of illegal aliens, bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, deported alien found in the United States, and importation of controlled substances.

The Central District of California filed criminal charges against 32 defendants who allegedly illegally re-entered the United States after being removed. Many of the defendants charged were previously convicted of felonies before they were removed from the United States, offenses that include committing lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14 years. The crime of being found in the United States following removal carries a base penalty of up to two years in federal prison. Defendants who were removed after being convicted of a felony face a maximum 10-year penalty and defendants removed after being convicted of an aggravated felony face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

The District of New Mexico announced its immigration enforcement statistics for this week. These cases are prosecuted in partnership with the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, along with Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, and assistance from other federal, state, and county agencies. In the one-week period ending April 25, 2025, the United States Attorney’s Office brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico: 67 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326), 10 individuals were charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324), and 55 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325).

We are grateful for the hard work of our border prosecutors in bringing these cases and helping to make our border safe again.