U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 72 Border-Related Cases This Week (DOJ)

SAN DIEGO - Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 72 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world's busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America's eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico's second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On December 29, Kara Elizabeth Pasco, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers found 35 packages of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl concealed in the quarter panels, floors and back driver seat of her vehicle as she tried to cross into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On December 27, Carlos Mata, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. According to a complaint, Border Patrol agents found Mata hiding in the bushes in an area north of the border near Otay Mesa. The defendant was previously deported in November 2025.
• On December 28, Francisco Javier Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens. According to a complaint, Border Patrol agents encountered Hernandez and other undocumented immigrants hiding in thick brush near the border to evade the agents. The agents determined that Hernandez was guiding the others.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Contact

Kelly Thornton, Director of Media Relations

Updated January 2, 2026