A total of 300 cases have been filed charging 302 people from May 2 to 8 in continuing efforts to secure the southern border, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
As part of the cases, 93 face allegations of illegally reentering the country. The majority have prior felony convictions for narcotics, prior immigration crimes and more. A total of 193 people face charges of illegally entering the country, while 11 cases allege various instances of human smuggling, with the remainder involving other immigration-related crimes.
Those charged by criminal complaint include two convicted felons, who authorities had allegedly discovered illegally in the country near Roma.
Milton Elias Lara-Lara and Alejandro Tamayo-Velazquez have convictions related to fentanyl and marijuana, respectively, and had previously been removed from the United States, according to their charges.
Two more charged this week for unlawfully returning to the United States are Marco Antonio Rangel-Hernandez and Jose Guadalupe Valero-Lavanzate. The charges against them allege both are Mexican nationals who had previously served sentences for illegal reentry.
As part of the ongoing efforts, others have also admitted they failed to register and be fingerprinted. One of those was Elver Emmanual Ollervidez-Tapia. He admitted he had previously waded across the Rio Grande River and illegally entered the country.
Upon arrival, he failed to register and be fingerprinted as required by law. He was charged with that crime and for illegally entering the country, and has pleaded guilty.
In addition to the new cases, a five-time DUI illegal alien offender was ordered to federal prison for 70 months. In imposing the term of imprisonment, the court considered the dangerousness of Isidor Lagunas-Estrada’s crimes, his lack of respect for the law and the need for deterrence.
Lagunas-Estrada was removed from the United States in 2020 following his fourth DUI conviction. The investigation revealed he illegally reentered again and was found in the United States in October 2022 when he was arrested and later convicted for his fifth DUI.
Also announced was an illegal alien who had allegedly attempted to export stolen vehicles for the cartel. Authorities found Angel David Salas-Herrera in a stolen Jeep Gladiator, according to the charges. A search allegedly resulted in the discovery of multiple key fobs and a device utilised to program them.
The charges allege the Gladiator was intended to be exported to Mexico for the Gulf Cartel. Law enforcement was also able to recover two additional stolen vehicles that were allegedly intended for the same purpose. If convicted, Salas-Herrera faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
In Brownsville, an armed repeat illegal alien admitted to human smuggling and firearms charges. The investigation revealed Alejandro Ramirez-Carranza was a river guide and had conspired with Issac Azuara-Vasquez to transport and smuggle illegal aliens in the bed of a truck after they illegally arrived from Mexico via boat on the Rio Grande River.
Ramirez-Carranza, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, admitted to transporting and bringing an alien into the United States as well as illegal reentry and being an alien in possession of a firearm. Mexican citizen Azuara-Vasquez entered his plea April 10 to the same smuggling-related charges as well as selling a firearm to Ramirez-Carranza, an illegal alien.
