During the week of July 26 to August 1, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona filed criminal charges against 134 individuals for immigration-related offenses. These cases included 66 instances of illegal reentry into the United States and 57 cases involving illegal entry. Additionally, nine cases were filed against eleven individuals accused of smuggling people into or within Arizona.
The prosecutions were supported by several federal agencies, 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).
Among recent cases was United States v. Felipe Osuna Hernandez. On July 29, Felipe Osuna Hernandez, a Mexican national present in the country illegally, was charged with Illegal Reentry and Bringing an Illegal Alien into the United States for Profit and While Placing Their Life in Jeopardy. According to authorities, Osuna acted as a foot guide who smuggled two people through the desert from Mexico without enough food or water. When one individual experienced medical distress, "Osuna threatened the individual, took the aliens' phones so they could not call for help and, ultimately, left the individual deceased in the desert." [Case Number: 25-MJ-2438]
In another case on August 1, Luis Enrique Beltran-Ceballos was charged with Bringing an Alien to the United States and Improper Entry by Alien after allegedly smuggling a twelve-year-old girl over the border wall using a ladder on July 30. After crossing into Arizona, he hid with her in a canal before being apprehended by Border Patrol agents. Authorities stated that "Beltran-Ceballos had engaged in the smuggling activity with the expectation of financial compensation." [Case Number: 25-MJ-1774]
Edgar Pedro Hernandez was also charged on August 1 with Transporting an Illegal Alien following a traffic stop where he gave inconsistent information about his passengers’ identities. Border Patrol determined both passengers were unlawfully present in the country; Hernandez admitted to picking them up at a gas station to drive them to Phoenix in exchange for gas money. [Case Number: 25-MJ-6341]
These enforcement actions are part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide effort that combines Department of Justice resources to combat illegal immigration and organized crime through programs like Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
"A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law," stated officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
