U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico Weekly Immigration and Border Crimes Report

ALBUQUERQUE – Today, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced its immigration enforcement statistics for this week. These cases are prosecuted in partnership with the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, along with Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, and assistance from other federal, state, and county agencies.

In the one-week period ending May 16, 2025, the United States Attorney’s Office brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico:

• 68 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326)
• 8 individual was charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324)
• 3 individual was charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325)
• 133 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325) and 50 U.S.C. 797, violation of a military security regulation, arising from the newly established National Defense Area in New Mexico.

Many of the defendants charged pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1326 had prior criminal convictions for alien smuggling, drug possession, and DUI.

In a significant case, Salvador Ruacho Aguirre, a Mexican citizen, was encountered during a traffic stop in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on May 13, 2025. During a search of his vehicle, officers discovered a .45 caliber handgun with a loaded magazine in the driver’s side door and a 12-gauge shotgun with ammunition on the passenger seat. Subsequently, FBI agents obtained a search warrant for Aguirre’s residence, where they located five additional firearms.

In another case, Aaron Christopher Montez fled the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on New Mexico State Highway 185 on May 11, 2025, reaching speeds of up to 70 mph in a 45-mph zone. During the pursuit, Montez briefly pulled over to the side of the highway. Agents later discovered an undocumented immigrant in the area where Montez had stopped. When Montez was eventually apprehended, he was arrested for high-speed flight and alien smuggling. Montez admitted to transporting the individual in the trunk of his vehicle.

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.

These statistics represent prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico only. The numbers do not include individuals apprehended by immigration enforcement officials and subjected solely to administrative process.

Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the District of New Mexico. 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 District of New Mexico consists of 33 counties and shares 180 miles of international border with Mexico.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys from Albuquerque and Las Cruces work directly with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to prosecute immigration-related and other federal offenses.