Armed Mexican national federally indicted in the Eastern District of Texas

TYLER, Texas – A Mexican national, illegally living in Rains County, has been charged with federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Rigoberto Herrera-Rodriguez, 59, was named in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week in the Eastern District of Texas charging him with illegally reentering the United States after previously being deported and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

The indictment alleges that on June 4, 2025, Herrera-Rodriguez was found illegally in the United States and in possession of a firearm.  Herrera-Rodriguez had been previously deported to Mexico from the United States in December 2024.  

This case is 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).

If convicted, Herrera-Rodriguez faces up to 15 years in federal prison and deportation.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Farahnak.

A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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