El Paso has become the site of a major legal crackdown on immigration violations, notably within the newly constituted Texas National Defense Area (NDA). A federal grand jury indicted many people accused of illegally entering the United States through this defense-sensitive zone.
The NDA, which stretches across the United States-Mexico border and includes parts of El Paso County, was established on April 30, 2025, to strengthen national security, a decision that has definitely resulted in legal implications for individuals who seek to cross it.
Leonel Sotelo-Santillan, a Mexican national with criminal convictions in Louisiana for domestic abuse and theft, is one of those facing such consequences.
According to the US Department of Justice, Sotelo-Santillan was arrested on May 2 for allegedly illegally entering the NDA, making it his third arrest on identical charges.
Meanwhile, Rafael Cabrera-Barron, who has previously been convicted of sexual assault, and Ramon Benigno Mancinas-Rodriguez, who has had repeated run-ins with US authorities, including an assault on a federal officer, have joined the list of people facing legal consequences for their acts.
The sweep did not only target people with a history of offenses.
Others, including Cuban national Aldanay Caridad Carricarte-Grillo, Guatemalan national Carlos Tomas-Cristostimo, and Salvadoran national Juan Carlos Lopz-Uriasan, are facing indictment for their first crime following a single prior expulsion.
These indictments carry the potential for imprisonment ranging from two to twenty years, depending on the suspects’ previous criminal records and the gravity of the breaches.
In addition to those particular instances, there have been more than 220 guilty pleas, and the district’s ledger has grown by 138 additional NDA-related immigration cases in the last month. According to U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons of the Western District of Texas, the rush of activity resulted in more than 340 NDA-related convictions in May alone. These verdicts highlight the vast scope of Title 50 USC 797, a provision that imposes penalties for illegal access to places deemed important to national defense.