Federal authorities have charged 376 individuals from August 15 to 21 as part of ongoing efforts to secure the southern border, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. The Southern District of Texas (SDTX) has filed a total of 372 new cases this week under Operation Take Back America.
The charges include allegations against 18 people for human smuggling. Additionally, 206 individuals face charges for illegal entry into the United States, while another 150 are accused of felony reentry after removal. Many of those facing felony reentry charges reportedly have prior convictions related to narcotics, violent crime, and other immigration offenses.
Among those charged is Kenneth Gamboa, who was arrested in Laredo on August 15. According to the complaint, Gamboa allegedly drove a box truck containing 40 undocumented migrants through a Border Patrol checkpoint in Jim Hogg County. Authorities found a false wall creating a hidden compartment with multiple boards screwed shut inside the vehicle’s storage area. Twenty-six of these migrants are also charged with illegal reentry after removal. If convicted of human smuggling, Gamboa could face up to ten years in prison.
A separate criminal complaint in McAllen names four individuals—Enrique Gonzalez and Rigoberto Esteban Perez-Cruz, both residents of Rio Grande Valley, and Erick Vallejo-Zapata and Mirza Garcia-Zapata, both Mexican nationals—for their alleged roles in an alien smuggling ring operating in Hidalgo County. The complaint alleges that they harbored undocumented migrants at local residences and transported them within the area. The migrants originated from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and India; some now face immigration-related charges.
Mexican national Carlos Alberto Garza-Garcia is also among those charged this week after being discovered unlawfully present near Hidalgo despite having been removed from the country earlier this year on May 29. He reportedly has a prior conviction for illegal reentry.
Criminal complaints further allege that Mexican nationals Magdaleno Valadez-Ortiz, Luis Gustavo Ramos-Ibarra, and Esvan Gonzalez-Manzano—all previously removed between 2018 and 2023—were found again in the Rio Grande Valley during this period. Gonzalez-Manzano has a previous conviction for illegal reentry; Valadez-Ortiz and Ramos-Ibarra reportedly have prior drug-related convictions.
If convicted on felony illegal reentry charges as outlined by prosecutors, these defendants could each receive up to twenty years in prison.
In addition to these new filings, Honduran national Elmer Leonel Ramos-Agurcia was sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison following his assault on law enforcement agents while attempting unlawful entry at the Brownsville & Matamoros port of entry on April 15. After being denied entry due to lack of documentation, he tackled an agent before fleeing toward the Rio Grande bridge; during arrest attempts he bit one agent and reached for another’s holster. The court warned him that any future illegal entries or crimes would result in increased sentencing.
Federal law enforcement agencies—including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)—as well as state and local partners contributed support or referrals for these cases.
Operation Take Back America is described as “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 and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.” The operation draws upon resources from Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods programs [https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf] [https://www.justice.gov/psn].
U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei stated: “Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district.” He noted enhanced enforcement measures have led authorities to apprehend noncitizens involved in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories including human trafficking or violence against children.
The Southern District of Texas covers forty-three counties spanning over forty-four thousand square miles with more than nine million residents [https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/about]. Assistant U.S. Attorneys across seven divisions work alongside federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies prosecuting suspected offenders for various federal crimes.
Officials emphasized that indictments or criminal complaints are formal accusations only; all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty through due process.
