Separately, the office prosecuted 32 alien in possession of a firearm cases, advancing national security objectives by enforcing federal prohibitions on firearm possession by individuals without lawful status.
Source: Department of Justice
Photo: Courtesy DEA via Department of Justice
ALBUQUERQUE – In coordination with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico brought 7,099 criminal cases in 2025 related to illegal reentry, alien smuggling, immigration fraud, and false statements stemming from southern border enforcement, including 152 cases involving drug trafficking.
Separately, the office prosecuted 32 alien in possession of a firearm cases, advancing national security objectives by enforcing federal prohibitions on firearm possession by individuals without lawful status.
Beyond criminal enforcement, the office also managed a significant civil and constitutional workload in 2025, including 82 civil habeas corpus matters.
“These cases show how criminal organizations exploit people for profit, move violence across borders, and poison communities with drugs and weapons,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison. “In New Mexico, we are focused on identifying the leaders, dismantling the networks they rely on, and using federal prosecutions to disrupt these operations at every level.”
These cases reflect the District of New Mexico’s focus on dismantling criminal networks that exploit vulnerable individuals, fuel violence, and move drugs, weapons, and people across borders and into communities:
United States v. Diana Perez, et al. – On April 4, 2024, Otero County Sheriff’s Officers responded to a reported hostage situation and discovered multiple individuals, including children, being held against their will inside a stash house. The victims had been smuggled into the United States illegally, provided approximately one meal per day, and were threatened with violence if they attempted to leave. Organizers Diana Perez and Valerie Perez required additional payments from victims’ families before releasing them. Alan Amaya operated the stash house. Valerie Perez was sentenced to ten years in federal prison on May 29, 2025. Amaya has pleaded guilty.
United States v. Alejandro Villalobos-Torres – In October 2022, investigators learned that a victim had been smuggled into the United States and was being held for ransom, with demands for an additional $8,000. The victim was moved between stash houses in Texas and New Mexico before being rescued in Chaparral, New Mexico, on November 3, 2022. Alejandro Villalobos-Torres was identified as the leader of the smuggling operation and arrested on March 11, 2025. The case remains pending.
United States v. Jorge Alberto De La Cruz-Dominguez, et al. – This case involved a large-scale human smuggling operation spanning Santa Teresa, El Paso, and Albuquerque. Defendants transported an estimated 20 to 40 individuals per week, including unaccompanied minors. Smuggled individuals were routed through stash houses and transferred between drivers across state lines. Seven defendants were arrested in February 2025. All have pleaded guilty apart from one defendant who has noticed intent to plead guilty.
United States v. Nan Zhang, et al. -In Albuquerque, Nan Zhang and her husband, Sanjay Khurana, were charged this year with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. The couple allegedly coordinated with alien smuggling organizations to use their rental properties as stash houses for illegal aliens. The couple is also accused of laundering money on behalf of the alien smuggling organizations through real estate sales.
In addition to the spotlighted smuggling cases above, the District of New Mexico has prosecuted other significant border related matters, including:
United States v. Henderson Yofre Mavo Finol, et al. – Eleven suspected members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang were indicted on racketeering charges related to kidnapping, torture, murder, drug trafficking, firearms offenses, and fraudulent documents.
United States v. Heriberto Salazar-Amaya – Federal authorities dismantled one of the largest fentanyl trafficking organizations in U.S. history, seizing approximately 400 kilograms of fentanyl, firearms, currency, and vehicles across multiple states.
United States v. Joel and Nancy Cano – A former magistrate judge and his wife were charged with evidence tampering related to suspected gang members and illegal firearms access.
These prosecutions are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
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