District of Arizona Charges 233 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this Week

PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from August 23, 2025, through August 29, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 233 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 107 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 108 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 16 cases against 18 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Recent matters of interest include:

United States v. Raymundo Barretero-Fernandez:  On August 27, 2025, Raymundo Barretero-Fernandez, a citizen of Mexico, was charged by criminal complaint with Illegal Re-entry. In 2019, Barretero-Fernandez was convicted in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma of Conspiracy to Possess Heroin with Intent to Distribute and Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm. He was sentenced to 36 months in prison and subsequently removed from the United States. Barretero-Fernandez then re-entered the United States without legal permission or authority. [Case Number: 25-MJ-0332]

United States v. Jose Luis Nunez-Sandoval:  On August 29, 2025, Jose Luis Nunez-Sandoval, a Mexican citizen, was charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien and Illegal Re-entry. According to court documents, on August 27, 2025, Nunez-Sandoval was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol while traveling on Interstate 40 with two passengers. Agents determined that Nunez-Sandoval and the passengers were unlawfully present in the United States. [Case Number: 25-MJ-0185]

These 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-142_August 29 Immigration Enforcement

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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