The Southern District of Texas has issued a massive wave of charges, with 215 people indicted in just the third week of June, signaling a huge increase in border enforcement operations. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced that 204 new cases involving immigration, border security, and related violations were filed between June 13 and June 19.
This strong push is part of the Department of Justice’s broad “Operation Take Back America,” which aims to dismantle cartels and secure the country’s borders.
Among those charged, 65 people risk prosecution for illegally reentering the nation, with many having past felony convictions for serious crimes such as narcotics and violence. A further 125 persons are charged with unlawful entrance, five with human smuggling, and the rest with various immigration-related crimes, including assaults on law enforcement officers.
Two males, Adrian Alberto Castillo-Contador and Lorenzo Ramirez, have been accused of attacking border officials, highlighting the threats they face. Castillo-Contador allegedly pushed a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer during an attempted evasion at the Hidalgo port of entry, resulting in injuries. In a second incident near Weslaco, Lorenzo Ramirez allegedly escaped from a Border Patrol (BP) agent and physically resisted arrest, hitting and elbowing officers before being tased. If found guilty of assaulting an officer, both may face up to eight years in federal prison.
Several previously deported felons were apprehended during the crackdown, including Mexican nationals Ivan Edgar Martinez, Carlos Bartolo Santiago-Hernandez, and Hugo Jimenez-Castillo, who were discovered in the Rio Grande Valley after multiple prior removals for offenses ranging from illegal reentry to driving while intoxicated. If convicted, these people could face up to 20 years in prison.
Beyond immigration-related charges, the comprehensive operation resulted in significant triumphs against organized crime. In May, grand juries in Houston and McAllen delivered five connected indictments, accusing almost two dozen people of large-scale narcotics and money laundering operations. The culmination of months-long Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigations, dubbed Operation Red Ranger, Borrowed Time, and Resurrection, resulted in the seizure of over 170 kilograms of cocaine and heroin, over 2,000 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 100 firearms, nearly $3 million in cash, and four properties worth $1.2 million.
To demonstrate the scope of these efforts, two cartel firearms traffickers, Jorge Alberto Morales-Calvo and Homero Arteaga Jr., were sentenced to federal prison in Laredo for their roles in supplying weapons to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, including a Barrett .50 caliber rifle and a high-capacity pistol.
U.S. Attorney Ganjei emphasized the Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment: “The Department of Justice is looking to hit the cartels from every angle and at every opportunity, including vigorously prosecuting not only the members of these terror groups but also those who enable them.” “Those who arm or otherwise empower the cartels will face the full force of the federal criminal justice system.”
In the unrelenting pursuit of human traffickers, an Arkansas man, Noel Mercado, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for carrying illegal aliens in dangerous situations such as a wheel well and gasoline tank. Braulio Ivan Rueda was sentenced to 21 months in prison in Laredo for a high-speed chase involving the smuggling of individuals who had recently crossed the Rio Grande River.
This broad enforcement effort highlights the Southern District of Texas’ main goals of public safety and a secure border, a mission carried out with the assistance of several federal, state, and local law enforcement partners under the banner of “Operation Take Back America.” This is what Ganjei said: “No matter how creative they think they are in their methods, our law enforcement partners are always one step ahead.”