U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 143 Border-Related Cases This Week

SAN DIEGO - Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 143 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 April 12, Ramon Ramirez Jr., a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 317 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the rear bed of the defendant's vehicle's as he tried to cross the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On April 13, Gabriel Soto-Baez, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested and charged with Attempted Entry after Deportation. According to a complaint, Ortiz was intercepted by Border Patrol officers lying on the ground in an attempt to conceal himself near the Tecate Port of Entry. The defendant was previously removed from the U.S. in January 2026 through Nogales, Arizona.
• On April 14, Zelin Chen, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers determined that Chen's passenger presented false immigration documents when they applied for entry to the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The passenger was a Chinese national without legal status to enter the U.S. who had made arrangements to pay $18,000 to be smuggled into the U.S.

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.