U.S. Attorneys for Southwestern Border Districts Charge More than 1,020 Illegal Aliens with Immigration-Related Crimes During the Second 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 1,020 defendants with criminal violations of U.S. immigration laws.  

The Southern District of Texas filed 229 cases in border security-related matters. As part of those cases, 80 face allegations of illegally reentering the country with the majority having felony convictions such as narcotics, firearms or sexual offenses, or prior immigration crimes. A total of 126 people face charges of illegally entering the country, 18 cases involve various instances of human smuggling with others relating to firearms, false statements and other immigration matters. One such case alleges Victor D. Perozo-Zarraga committed fraud and misuse of a visa after authorities found him in possession of fraudulent legal permanent resident and Social Security documents. He indicated he had legal status to be in the United States, which he does not, according to the complaint. Other relevant matters this week include a Mexican visa holder who attempted to bring child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and drugs across the border. Christian Christopher Rodriguez-Lopez was ordered to serve 151 months after attempting to enter the United States from Mexico. Upon inspection, law enforcement located approximately five kilograms of cocaine in his vehicle. Further investigation following his arrest resulted in the additional discovery of CSAM on his cell phone. His visa has since been revoked.   

The Western District of Texas filed 295 immigration and immigration-related criminal cases. Among the new cases, Mexican national Jorge Alberto Garcia-Drue was encountered at the Frio County Jail in Pearsall after he was arrested for allegedly refusing to provide accurate identification. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Enforcement Removal Operations agents determined that Garcia-Drue was an alien illegally present within the United States and that he had been previously removed from the country. A review of his criminal history revealed that he had also been convicted on Dec. 10, 2014 of harboring illegal aliens and aiding and abetting. For that conviction, Garcia-Drue was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. 

The District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 261 defendants. Specifically, the United States filed 103 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 140 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States also filed 14 cases against 18 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona. These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). 

The Southern District of California filed 116 border-related cases, including charges of transportation of illegal aliens, bringing in aliens for financial gain, receipt of bribes by public officials, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.  

The Central District of California filed charges against 21 defendants who allegedly were found in the U.S. following removal. Many of the defendants charged were previously convicted of felony offenses prior to their removal from the United States, including alien smuggling, burglary, grand theft, and assault with a deadly weapon. 

The District of New Mexico brought the following criminal charges: 63 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326), four individuals were charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324), and 38 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325). Many of the defendants charged pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1326 had prior criminal convictions, with some of those convictions being for drug trafficking, alien smuggling, and grand theft. 

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