U.S. Attorneys for Southwestern Border Districts Charge More than 1100 Illegal Aliens with Immigration-Related Crimes During the Third Week in May 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, Southern California, New Mexico, Southern Texas, and Western Texas charged more than 1100 defendants with Criminal violations of U.S. immigration laws.

The Southern District of Texas filed a total of 209 cases in immigration and border security-related matters from May 9-15. As part of the cases, 78 face allegations of illegally reentering the country. The majority have prior felony convictions for narcotics, violent crime, sexual offenses, prior immigration crimes and more. A total of 124 people face charges of illegally entering the country, while seven cases allege various instances of human smuggling.

The Western District of Texas filed 295 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 9 through May 15. Among the new cases, Mexican nationals Juan Jose Medrano-Escobedo and Rosendo Dominguez-Morales were arrested after allegedly entering the U.S. illegally through the Texas National Defense Area (Tx-NDA) less than half a mile west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso. Medrano-Escobedo has been previously removed from the U.S. to Mexico twice, most recently July 30, 2024. He has been convicted of three felonies, including evading arrest in 2017 and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in November 2023. Dominguez-Morales was last removed on Aug. 20, 2024, following an Aug. 18, 2024 felony conviction for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Medrano-Escobedo and Dominguez-Morales are each charged with two counts related to violating defense property security regulation and one count of illegal re-entry.

The District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 310 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 125 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 170 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States charged 15 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.

The Southern District of California filed 153 border-related cases this week, including charges of assault on a federal officer, bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances. One of these cases included a man who was arrested and charged with illegal importation of cocaine. According to a complaint, Luque applied for entry through the Calexico, California East Port of Entry in a Kenworth truck towing a car hauler. Upon inspection of the trailer, Customs and Border Protection officers found 92.18kg (203.22 pounds) of cocaine concealed in the frame of the trailer.

The District of New Mexico filed 212 criminal charges related to immigration and border security-related matters. 68 individuals were charged with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326). 8 individuals were charged with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324). Three individuals were charged with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325). And 133 individuals were charged with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325) and 50 U.S.C. 797, violation of a military security regulation, arising from the newly established National Defense Area in New Mexico. Many of the defendants charged pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1326 had prior criminal convictions for alien smuggling, drug possession, and DUI.

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