Southern District of Texas charges more than 318 people for immigration and border security offenses this week

HOUSTON – A total of 316 cases have been filed in matters related to further securing the southern border from Nov. 28 – Dec. 4, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

A total of 84 people face charges of illegal entry, while another 204 face charges of felony reentry after removal. Most have convictions for narcotics, violent crime, immigration crimes and more. The filed cases also include 28 individuals accused of engaging in human smuggling and the remaining two charges involve firearms offenses and other immigration-related crimes.

As part of the new cases, criminal complaints allege three individuals attempted to unlawfully reenter the country within five months of their most recent removals. Mexican nationals Jesus Hernandez-Gomez and Jose Martinez-Arrevalo were previously removed Aug. 28 and Oct. 24, respectively, according to court documents. Law enforcement removed Mexican national Ascencion Avellaneda-Rodriguez Sept. 10. Each allegedly has prior felony convictions for illegal reentry. Charges allege law enforcement found all three in the United States without legal authorization.  

Additional complaints allege several previous felons had also illegally reentered the country. Mexican nationals Diana Aurora Bueno-Zuniga and Julio Guerra-Silva had both been previously removed on various dates between 2007-2019, according to their respective charges. However, both were allegedly found in the McAllen area this week. Bueno-Zuniga has a previous conviction for harboring an alien for financial gain, while Guerra-Silva was sentenced for possession with intent to distribute nearly 20 kilograms of marijuana.

If convicted, all face up to 20 years in federal prison.

Also announced this week was the conviction of Carlos Alberto Garcia-Guajardo on all 12 counts as charged. A Laredo federal jury found he had sold cocaine and multiple firearms, including machine guns, during a month-long undercover investigation. He and Fernando Patino used the sale of cocaine and firearms to negotiate future deals. They not only sold firearms but fired them indiscriminately in their neighborhood. A search warrant revealed scales, cash in various denominations, multiple firearms and crack cocaine stored near items belonging to young children. Garcia-Guajardo had been removed from the country on two occasions. He now faces up to life in prison.

In Brownsville, Mexican national Alejandro Ramirez-Carranza was ordered to federal prison for five years for transporting and bringing an alien into the United States, illegal reentry and being an alien in possession of a firearm. While conducting surveillance near the Rio Grande, authorities heard a boat approaching and observed a vehicle arrive as several individuals ran from the brush and climbed into the truck bed. Ramirez-Carranza acted as the river guide and worked with others to transport and smuggle the aliens. One said Ramirez-Carranza brought him across by boat and that relatives were paying for his smuggling. 

In McAllen, Mario Alberto Almanzan-Mata received a 72-month sentence for illegally reentering the country for a third time. He was removed most recently May 27, and authorities discovered him again July 7 in Mission. At the hearing, the court heard about a pattern of behavior that places members of the community in significant danger.

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 histories, including convictions for 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.