The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced that 200 cases related to immigration and border security were filed during the first week of 2026. According to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, between January 2 and January 8, authorities charged 117 individuals with felony reentry after removal and another 70 with illegal entry. Most of those charged have prior felony convictions involving narcotics, violent crime, or other immigration offenses. The filings also include nine people accused of human smuggling and additional cases related to firearms and other immigration-related crimes.
Among those charged is Daniel Enrique Rangel-Quezada, a Mexican national who was allegedly found near Garciasville in possession of a firearm while suffering from a gunshot wound. As he is not a U.S. citizen, federal law prohibits him from possessing firearms or ammunition; if convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
Other criminal complaints involve individuals accused of unlawfully reentering the United States after being previously removed. Juan Dimas-Sosa and Audelio Rios-Castillo, both Mexican nationals, had been deported in August 2024 and June 2025 respectively but were allegedly found again in the McAllen area last week. Authorities state that Rios-Castillo has a previous conviction for illegal reentry, while Dimas-Sosa was previously convicted of human smuggling. If convicted on felony reentry charges, each could receive up to 20 years in prison.
In addition to these new cases, Danny Nunez—a Laredo resident—was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for his role in a cartel-linked conspiracy that involved smuggling hundreds of undocumented immigrants into the United States. During sentencing, evidence showed Nunez led a large-scale operation working directly with Cartel del Noreste (CDN) to smuggle over 1,900 people across the border for profit shared between CDN and himself. The court described this as “the largest number of aliens smuggled and the most prolific smuggler she had seen.”
Federal 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 and Explosives (ATF), as well as state and local law enforcement partners supported these investigations.
These prosecutions are part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime.
According to leadership within the district: “Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.”
The Southern District of Texas covers 43 counties stretching from Houston down to the Mexican border—serving more than nine million residents across an area exceeding 44,000 square miles (official website). Offices are located throughout Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville (official website). The office employs more than 200 attorneys who prosecute federal crimes such as those mentioned above (official website).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office works closely with various federal agencies as well as state and local law enforcement partners (official website). The office is part of the Department of Justice under supervision by the Attorney General (official website)—with its leader appointed by the President upon Senate confirmation (official website).
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation,” according to officials.
Authorities emphasize that indictments or criminal complaints are formal accusations only; all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty through due process.
