Federal authorities in the Southern District of Texas have filed 361 cases related to immigration and border enforcement between February 13 and 19, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Of these cases, 23 involve human smuggling charges. Authorities also filed 141 criminal complaints for illegal entry and charged 193 individuals with felony reentry after prior removal. Many of those facing felony reentry charges have previous convictions for crimes such as narcotics offenses, violent crime, or other immigration violations. The remaining cases include firearms offenses and additional immigration-related crimes.
Several Mexican nationals recently removed from the United States were among those charged with felony reentry. Two complaints specifically name Jorge Luis Gonzalez-Garcia and Cesar Eduardo Sanchez-Rodriguez, who were found in the McAllen area without authorization to be in the country. Both men had been previously convicted of illegal reentry and removed from the United States in November 2025 and January 2026.
Other complaints allege that four felons with prior drug convictions also illegally reentered the country. Law enforcement located Cesar David Ramirez-Rodriguez and Irwin Francisco Ruiz-Gallegos near Mission, while Jesus Torres-Gomez was found near Weslaco and Arturo Saenz-Valle near Rio Grande City.
All six men could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
In addition to new filings, Wilson Antonio Vargas Argueta received a 24-month sentence for unlawfully reentering the United States. He has multiple prior convictions including assault, driving while intoxicated, fleeing law enforcement, and an incident in which he bit a police officer during an arrest before being removed from the country.
Authorities also announced sentencing for Odon Chavez-Esquivel, a four-time DUI offender who was first removed from the United States in May 2003 but returned illegally several times. After his fourth DUI conviction in August 2022, he was ordered to serve a 21-month federal sentence.
Mexican national Juan Ignacio Miranda-Arente was sentenced to 21 months for illegal reentry; his criminal record includes convictions since 2008 for illegal reentry, assault, and indecency with a child.
Honduran national Danilo Nunez-Avila pleaded guilty to unlawfully entering the United States without permission for a ninth time after being discovered on October 29, 2024 following an assault report involving a family member. He faces up to two decades in prison if convicted.
Additional sentences were handed down in Houston for Salvadoran national Santos Alexis Parada Garcia—who has convictions for domestic violence, DWI, and cocaine possession—as well as Guatemalan national Manual Isais Sohom Tambriz and Mexican national Jose Apolinar Hernandez-Melo. Hernandez-Melo’s record includes DWI and controlled substance possession; he was found again after a deadly conduct conviction despite previous removals. Tambriz had been removed three times since his first removal in 2016.
These prosecutions involved cooperation among federal agencies such as 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), along with state and local law enforcement partners.
The actions are part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative using Department of Justice resources aimed at countering illegal immigration activity as well as targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
According to officials: "Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this 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 remains one of the busiest offices nationally within its jurisdiction spanning over nine million people across more than forty counties covering about forty-four thousand square miles. Its seven divisions—including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo—work closely with law enforcement at all levels to prosecute federal crimes (official website). The office employs more than two hundred attorneys (official website) focused on prosecuting federal offenses as well as handling civil litigation on behalf of the government (official website).
The office is led by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei; former leaders include Alamdar Hamdani (2022–2025) (official history page) among others (official history page). The Southern District is part of the U.S. Department of Justice under supervision by the Attorney General (official website).
As noted by authorities: "An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law."
