Between September 26 and November 13, authorities in the Southern District of Texas charged 2,409 individuals in 2,387 cases related to immigration and border security enforcement. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced these figures as part of ongoing efforts along the South Texas border.
The cases include charges against 966 people for illegal entry and 1,245 for felony reentry after removal. Many of those charged have previous felony convictions involving narcotics, violent crime, or other immigration offenses. There are also 140 cases involving alleged human smuggling, while the remaining 58 cases cover drug offenses, firearms violations, assaults on federal officers, and other immigration-related crimes.
One case involved Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, a 33-year-old El Salvadorian national accused of assaulting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with a hot coffee mug. The complaint alleges that Rodriguez was previously removed from the United States in 2013 and has returned multiple times.
Another case features Javier Cornelio Cruz-Nava, a 36-year-old Mexican national who allegedly assaulted a federal officer during an immigration operation in Houston on October 1. According to authorities, Cruz-Nava fled from a traffic stop before allegedly throwing an officer into a fence.
“These officers place their lives on the line every day to protect our communities and country, and they deserve to be protected in return,” said Ganjei. “Anyone who attacks law enforcement is attacking the American system of justice, and those who choose violence over lawfulness will be met with swift charges. The Southern District of Texas has a zero-tolerance policy towards anyone who does so. The message is clear - comply with officer directives and keep your hands to yourself.”
If convicted of assaulting or impeding a person assisting a federal officer, both men face up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
In another notable case, Savin Seng (also known as “Two-Face”), a Cambodian national accused of murder and firearm possession while unlawfully present in the U.S., faces up to ten years if convicted.
Several others were charged with illegal reentry after previous removal due to serious criminal convictions such as aggravated assault or drug trafficking. These include Ciro Mora-Santiago and Miguel Tinajero-Velasquez from Mexico; Orlando Espinoza-Morales from Honduras; Aurelio Galvan-Jimenez, Javier Ortiz-Rivera, and Maria Remedios Granados-Guerra from Mexico.
Three members of the Pasia gang—Oscar Ambrocio Hernandez, Ruben Gonzalez-Balderas, and Roger Emmanuel Lemus—were sentenced for assaulting two corrections officers at East Hidalgo Detention Center while awaiting trial on federal immigration charges.
Mailon Almendares-Martinez was sentenced for leading an alien smuggling conspiracy that transported people from South Texas to Houston using drivers organized through messaging apps.
A jury found Jose Eduardo Rocha guilty of alien smuggling after he attempted to hide four undocumented individuals inside his tractor trailer at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias.
Edgar Ruiz-Briones received ten years for leading an alien smuggling operation that moved more than one hundred individuals over eighteen months from Mexico into Houston by recruiting drivers across several states.
Luis Adrian Torres-Tamayo was sentenced to over eight years following his conviction for illegal reentry after previously being removed due to felony drug charges; he later assaulted two police officers during a domestic violence incident upon his return.
Antonio Pena was sentenced after being stopped by authorities near Laredo when three undocumented immigrants were found hidden inside his vehicle; Pena had previously been convicted of homicide.
Other recent sentences included Eduardo Ramiro Gonzalez-Leal (76 months), Wilfredo Sanchez (66 months), Carlos Membreno-Lainez (72 months), all for illegal reentry following prior removals and various felony convictions. In Brownsville, David Antonio Varcenas-Aguilar received 27 months for returning illegally after being removed due to aggravated sexual assault of a child; this sentence reflected consideration of his criminal history involving violence.
These prosecutions involve collaboration among multiple agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement–Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), ICE–Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (ATF), alongside state and local partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at addressing illegal immigration activities by targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations while prioritizing community safety throughout border regions.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas—which covers more than nine million residents across forty-three counties—public safety remains its top priority under current leadership through enhanced enforcement efforts both at border areas and within interior jurisdictions.
