During the week of February 28 through March 6, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona charged 177 individuals with immigration-related crimes. The charges included 124 cases involving illegal re-entry into the United States and 35 cases for illegal entry. Additionally, authorities filed 17 cases against 18 people accused of smuggling illegal aliens into or within Arizona.
Federal law enforcement agencies involved in these efforts included U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), ICE-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
One notable case from this period is United States v. Iven Jair Jonathan Monjaraz-Perez, Gabriel Garcia-Lopez, and Alvaro Ojeda-Gomez. According to a criminal complaint filed on March 4, HSI began investigating a human smuggling organization based in Phoenix in 2025. On March 2, HSI agents executed a search warrant at an apartment in Phoenix where they found 19 smuggled illegal aliens and arrested two alleged load drivers—Garcia-Lopez and Ojeda-Gomez—who were also identified as Mexican citizens unlawfully present in the country. Agents later searched another apartment linked to the operation and arrested Monjarez-Perez after observing him leave with another individual in a vehicle associated with the scheme. Monjarez-Perez is alleged to have received money for transporting migrants within the United States.
"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.
Further information about these actions can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/.
