450 New Immigration Cases Filed in Western District of Texas in 2 Weeks

SAN ANTONIO - Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 450 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from June 12 through June 25, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons.

Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for numerous DWIs, violent crimes including assault and homicide, sex crimes against children, thefts, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, convicted felon and illegal alien from Mexico, Jose Gilberto Padilla-Yepez, was arrested near Eagle Pass and charged with illegal re-entry. Padilla-Yepez has been deported four times, the last one being in August 2022. His lengthy criminal record includes a 1991 homicide conviction and three previous burglary convictions in Dallas, a conviction in Nebraska for theft over $1,500, and a conviction in Arizona for robbery, assault, sexual assault, burglary and kidnapping.

Also an illegal alien from Mexico, Juan Antonio Gonzalez Escamilla was arrested near Eagle Pass and charged with illegal re-entry. In January, Gonzalez Escamilla was convicted of illegal re-entry for the second time and deported for the sixth time immediately after. In addition to the two immigration convictions, Gonzalez Escamilla's criminal record includes three DWI convictions.

Martin Flores-Romero was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry near Eagle Pass on June 19. Flores-Romero is an illegal alien from Mexico who was deported for the second time in December 2025. He was convicted three times in 2023: once for tampering with government records, once for assault causing bodily injury, and once for terroristic threat causing imminent fear.

Pedro Euceda-Aguero, an illegal alien from Honduras, is charged with illegal re-entry after he was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents near Eagle Pass on June 19. Euceda-Aguero was removed from the U.S. for the fourth time in December 2022. He has been previously convicted of four DWIs as well as escape from custody.

Illegal alien from Mexico, Francisco Javier Perez-Solis, was charged with illegal re-entry in San Antonio. Perez-Solis was encountered at the Atascosa County Jail in Jourdanton after he was arrested for assault causing bodily injury to a family member. He was transferred to ICE custody on June 24. In addition to the recent assault conviction, Perez-Solis's criminal history includes three DWI convictions. He has been removed from the U.S. twice, the last being in June 2024.

Jose Humberto Gonzalez Calderon, an illegal alien from Mexico, was found in the Hays County Jail, where he was being held after receiving a deferred adjudication probation for a child grooming charge. He was transferred into ICE custody on June 16. Gonzalez Calderon's criminal record includes convictions for a DWI and possession of a controlled substance in 2020, and a criminal trespass conviction in 2021. He was removed from the U.S. to Mexico in December 2021.

Carlos Emmanuel Gonzalez-Chavez, also an illegal alien from Mexico found in the Hays County Jail, was serving a sentence for assault causing bodily injury prior to being transferred to ICE custody. In 2025, he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance. Gonzalez-Chavez, who was previously removed from the U.S. in 2019, now faces a federal charge for illegal re-entry.

U.S. citizen Tony Nefi Deanda was charged with alien smuggling in El Paso. U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Ysleta Border Patrol Station apprehended eight undocumented minors near Socorro after the aliens crossed the Rio Grande River and used a ladder to climb over the international boundary fence. An investigation led the agents to identify Deanda as the alleged smuggler in contact with the apprehended aliens. Deanda was later detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry, arrested and transported to the Ysleta Border Patrol Station for further investigation. In 2021, Deanda was convicted of importation of 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and sentenced to 37 months in prison.

Michelle Aimee Rivera, also a U.S. citizen and a convicted alien smuggler, was arrested after attempting to enter the U.S. through the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry on June 12. At the POE, her prior history of alien smuggling, including smuggling of minors, activated an alert and investigatory hold for her entry into the U.S. The investigation revealed that Rivera had allegedly smuggled a female child into the U.S. through the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry on June 5 using her daughter's U.S. birth certificate. Rivera also stated, according to a criminal complaint, that she was paid $1,000 to smuggle the child and that she recorded a video of the video to send to a co-conspirator via cell phone, as she had been instructed to do. In 2017, Rivera was convicted of bringing in and harboring aliens and was sentenced to 24 months of probation.

Guadalupe Guerrero is charged with alien smuggling following her arrest on June 18. U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Ysleta Border Patrol Station tracked a van from Fabens to El Paso. The van was allegedly identified as being involved in a previous alien smuggling attempt in April. According to a criminal complaint, the agents observed multiple subjects, appearing wet and muddy, exit the van and enter an apartment. Later that morning, agents allegedly observed Guerrero arrive at the apartment in a large SUV. The agents investigated the apartment, which was noted in the complaint as being dirty and unkempt with scattered trash and a foul smell. Inside, the agents allegedly encountered Guerrero with her seven children. Further investigation revealed that Guerrero was allegedly housing illegal aliens and coordinating with a smuggler.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas-San Antonio, Austin and El Paso-and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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.

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