Over 2400 border security-related cases filed in the Southern District during majority of government shutdown

HOUSTON - Between Sept. 26-Nov. 13, a total of 2409 individuals have been charged in 2387 immigration and related cases as part of ongoing enforcement efforts along the South Texas border, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

A total of 966 people face charges of illegal entry, while another 1245 individuals face charges of felony reentry after removal. Most have felony convictions for narcotics, violent crime, immigration crimes and more. The filed cases also include 140 people alleged to have engaged in human smuggling, with the remaining 58 cases involving drugs, firearms offenses, assaults on federal officers and other immigration-related crimes.

One such person charged is a 33-year-old El Salvadorian national who allegedly attacked and injured an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. According to the criminal complaint, Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez threw a 32-ounce stainless steel mug filled with hot coffee on the officer, striking him in the face. The officer allegedly fell to the ground and lost consciousness. He was treated for second-degree burns to his neck and arms and a laceration to his upper lip that required 18 stiches, according to the allegations. The criminal complaint alleges authorities first removed Rodriguez from the United States in 2013, and he returned at least two more times. 

Also charged was 36-year-old Mexican national Javier Cornelio Cruz-Nava, who allegedly assaulted a federal officer in Houston. According to the complaint, authorities were conducting immigration enforcement operations Oct. 1, when Cruz-Nava fled a traffic stop on foot. A Texas Department of Public Safety agent caught up to him, but Cruz-Nava allegedly lunged and threw the officer into a wrought-iron fence, causing two deep head wounds to the officer, according to the charges.

“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, resisting or impeding a person assisting a federal officer, both men face up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.  

Another notable case involves 41-year-old Cambodian national named Savin Seng aka “Two-Face.” Following a shooting incident that left a woman deceased, the charges allege law enforcement located a cell phone with an image showing a man holding a Glock pistol with an extended magazine. The criminal complaint alleges the man was Seng, whom a witness had identified as the murder suspect. Seng had illegally entered the United States as a child and never held lawful immigration status in the country, according to the allegations. The criminal complaint further alleges Seng has had possession of several guns while remaining in the United States illegally. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Some of those charged in new illegal reentry cases include Mexican nationals Ciro Mora-Santiago and Miguel Tinajero-Velasquez. Their criminal complaints allege previous convictions of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with both being subsequently removed from the United States. However, authorities allegedly found them in the Rio Grande Valley this past week. Other charges allege law enforcement found four others also illegally in the country – all of whom had allegedly already been removed this year and have prior convictions such as drug trafficking or conspiracy to produce false identification documents. Those men include Honduran national Orlando Espinoza-Morales and Aurelio Galvan-Jimenez, Javier Ortiz-Rivera and Maria Remedios Granados-Guerra, all of Mexico. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in federal prison.       

Also of note was the sentencing of three members of the Pasia gang. Oscar Ambrocio Hernandez, Ruben Gonzalez-Balderas and Roger Emmanuel Lemus received 137 months, 126 months and 57 months, respectively, for assaulting two federal corrections officers at the East Hidalgo Detention Center. The inmates, who were already in custody pending federal immigration charges, outnumbered the officers and repeatedly punched and kicked them. They were housed in a gang-designated unit within the facility. One inmate wielded a sock with a bar of soap as a weapon during the assault. One correctional officer sustained injuries that resulted in multiple staples in his forehead. Seven others have also been sentenced to terms ranging from 48-114 months.

In Houston, Mailon Almendares-Martinez, received 51 months after serving as a leader in a smuggling conspiracy that moved aliens from the South Texas border to Houston. Between October and November 2022, he organized drivers through WhatsApp and phone calls, paying up to $2,000 per person. During one trip, rival smugglers shot at them en route to Houston, wounding two aliens in the arm and leg. After the shooting, Almendares-Martinez told the drivers to return to Houston and not seek medical attention. Seven co-conspirators from New Orleans previously have also pleaded guilty.

A federal jury in Corpus Christi deliberated for approximately one hour before returning a guilty verdict against Jose Eduardo Rocha, 47, Seagoville, for alien smuggling. He had driven a tractor trailer to the Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias where authorities noticed suspicious behavior. They soon found four illegal aliens hiding on the top bunk, the main bed behind the driver, inside the closet and under the bed. Testimony revealed Rocha told the illegal aliens to be quiet and to hide. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,00 fine.

A 41-year-old Mexican national who illegally resided in Houston was sentenced to the maximum of 120 months for leading an alien smuggling conspiracy and illegal reentry into the country. Edgar Ruiz-Briones led a network that arranged transportation for illegal aliens crossing from Mexico into the United States. He recruited drivers from multiple states to bring aliens to Houston, where they were moved further north. Over an 18-month period, he coordinated trips for more than 100 individuals and managed payments between them and his drivers. ICE – Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. AUSA Joseph Griffith is prosecuting the case as part of Operation Take Back America.

Also of note was the sentencing of Mexican national who had illegally reentered the country. Luis Adrian Torres-Tamayo, 39, is a convicted felon illegal alien who had previously assaulted police. He was first removed in 2012 after sustaining a conviction for possession of a controlled substance. He illegally returned and in 2022, he assaulted two local law enforcement officers during a domestic violence dispute. He repeatedly attacked them, seizing their taser guns and striking them with a closed fist. He was sentenced to 105 months.

In Laredo, a homicide convict was sentenced after illegal aliens were found crammed in a trunk an on floorboard of compact car. Antonio Pena, 57, Rio Bravo, received 63 months in federal prison. On Feb. 14, authorities stopped him at a gas station while driving a heavily weighted Chevrolet Cruze and appeared nervous when law enforcement questioned him. Authorities discovered one alien lying on the floorboard and two others crammed in the trunk. One illegal alien admitted he had waded across the Rio Grande and Pena told him to hide in the car.

Three more cases were sentenced in Houston involving foreign nationals who had illegally returned to the United States. Mexican national Eduardo Ramiro Gonzalez-Leal had been removed in November 2015 and October 2021 and has prior felony convictions for drug conspiracy, firearm possession and driving under the influence. He received 76 months. Wilfredo Sanchez, also of Mexico, had illegally reentered four times and received 66 months and has prior felony convictions for illegal reentry, burglary of habitation and evading arrest. Salvadorian national Carlos Membreno-Lainez has prior convictions for evading arrest and theft as well as a significant sentence for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. He was removed in November 2018, but authorities encountered him again Nov. 30, 2024, following an arrest in Harris County on charges of felony assault of a family member impeding breath. He received 72 months for illegal reentry.

In Brownsville, an illegal alien sex offender was also ordered to prison. David Antonio Varcenas-Aguilar, a 45-year-old man from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, has a felony conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Authorities first removed him from the United States in 2015, but he unlawfully returned shortly thereafter. He has now been ordered to federal prison for 27 months for illegally reentering the United States after removal. The court noted he was sentencing Varcenas-Aguilar at the highest sentence pursuant to the federal sentencing guidelines because of his serious criminal history which involve violence against another.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, 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. 

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 history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.  

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes. 

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.