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Last week, the U.S. Attorneys for Arizona, Western Texas, Southern Texas, New Mexico, and Central California charged more than 750 defendants with criminal violations of U.S. immigration laws.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
The Department of Justice is prosecuting every possible immigration violation, including first-time illegal entry cases, and is seeking a meaningful prison sentence in every possible case.
Last week, the U.S. Attorneys for Arizona, Western Texas, Southern Texas, New Mexico, and Central California charged more than 750 defendants with criminal violations of U.S. immigration laws.
“The District of Arizona has brought immigration-related criminal charges against 232 defendants. Specifically, the United States filed 92 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 124 aliens for illegally entering the United States.”
“The Western District of Texas announced [Friday], that federal prosecutors in the district filed 215 immigration and immigration-related criminal cases. Several individuals were charged with illegal reentry after deportation, after being found in local area jails.”
The Southern District of Texas announced Friday “A total of 245 new cases have been filed. Of those, 115 are charged with illegally re-entering the country with the majority having felony convictions such as narcotics, violent and/or sexual crimes and prior immigration offenses. A total 118 face charges of illegally entering the country, 10 cases involve various instances of human smuggling, and the remainder relate to firearms and assault of federal officers.”
The Central District of California “filed charges against 16 defendants who allegedly illegally re-entered the United States after being removed. Many of the defendants charged were previously convicted of felony offenses before they were removed from the U.S., offenses that include sexual abuse of children. One of the defendants is charged in state court with a murder in Inglewood last month.”
The District of New Mexico “brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico: 38 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326), 5 individuals were charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324), and 22 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325).”
We are grateful for the hard work of our border prosecutors in bringing these cases and helping to make our border safe again.
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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 March 14, 2025, the United States Attorney’s Office brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico:
- 38 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326)
- 5 individuals were charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324)
- 22 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325)
In one significant case, on March 7, 2025, transnational criminal organization leader Guillermo Amaro-Rodriguez was extradited to New Mexico from Mexico on an 2022 indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
In another significant case, Alejandro Villalobos-Torres was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with human smuggling and kidnapping two men in 2022.
Both of these cases are part of Operation Take Back America.
In a third case, Edgar Ivan Esparza-Labrador, a Mexican national previously convicted of burglary in 2012, was sentenced to 48 months in prison. U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended Esparza-Labrador in 2024 after he illegally re-entered the United States from Mexico.
Protecting law enforcement officers is a key part of border security. During this time period, federal prosecutors pursued a case involving assaults on federal officers in Santa Teresa. Andrew Josiah Segura was arrested on March 7, 2025, and is charged by a criminal complaint filed on February 28, 2025, for allegedly assaulting three U.S. Border Patrol agents in two separate incidents earlier that month.
Since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, 40 El Paso Sector Border Patrol Agents have been assaulted, following 103 assaults in Fiscal Year 2024. U.S. Border Patrol is collaborating closely with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure that those who assault federal officers are brought to justice. This interagency cooperation is crucial in protecting the men and women who serve on the frontlines of our nation’s border security efforts and in deterring future attacks on law enforcement personnel.
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.
