Southern District of Texas charges more than 200 this week alone in relation to border enforcement efforts

HOUSTON – Nearly 200 new cases have been filed in the last week related to immigration and border security, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

Of those, almost 100 are charged with illegally re-entering the country with the majority having felony convictions such as narcotics, violent crimes and prior immigration offenses. Over 80 face charges of illegally entering the country, 12 cases involve various instances of human smuggling, and the remainder relate to other immigration crimes. 

Relevant cases also featured this week include a new indictment charging a dozen illegal aliens with assaulting officers. All 12 men allegedly aided and abetted the assault of two corrections officers at the East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa. If convicted, they face up to eight years in federal prison. 

Also charged this week are two South Texas bakery owners who were indicted for harboring illegal aliens. At the time of a consensual worksite enforcement action Feb. 12 at Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Café, law enforcement allegedly identified several employees and others who were in the United States illegally or in the country under B1/B2 visas without having the right to work. The bakery owners were alleged to have housed these illegal alien workers in an adjacent room with six mattresses on the floor.

Several individuals have also been sentenced for various border-related crimes against the United States, such as a leader of an organization who smuggled aliens through Corpus Christi and was ordered to forfeit $1 million.

Marvin Reyes led the organization which was based out of Houston. The investigation revealed he and others were coordinating the movement of illegal aliens through the Border Patrol checkpoints located near Sarita and Falfurrias as well as by airplane. Reyes also arranged private flights for illegal aliens from Weslaco to Houston. He was ordered to serve 108 months in prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including how the conspiracy had stretched over three years with over 200 aliens transported.

Another criminal will serve 69 months in prison after illegally smuggling dozens of people into the United States on two separate occasions. Joe Adam Escobedo drove a tractor trailer to the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint on two occasions in 2024 with a total of 49 illegal aliens from the countries of El Salvador, Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala and Honduras.

A 27-year-old Los Fresnos man was also sentenced for attempting to smuggle an illegal alien further into the country after feeling from authorities. Carlos Del Angel Bocanegra approached the Border Patrol checkpoint near Kingsville driving a Chevy Tahoe with an adult passenger and four juveniles visibly present. When authorities discovered an illegal alien concealed under a passenger row seat, Bocanegra then immediately fled and led law enforcement on a chase down the highway. He will now serve 24 months in prison.

Jesus Alberto Castro-Garza has prior felony convictions for injury to a child, assault family violence impeding breath, evading with a vehicle and human smuggling. He was first removed from the country in 2019 and has illegally returned three times. He was last removed Nov. 21, 2023. Caastro-Garza must now serve 106 months in federal prison for again illegally re-entering the United States.

Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). 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 SDTX 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 is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.