Western District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office Adds 231 New Immigration Cases

SAN ANTONIO - Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 231 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from March 20 to March 26, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes, drug trafficking, numerous DWIs, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, Miguel Angel Castro, of Fabens, was arrested on human smuggling charges Tuesday. U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a sensor activation near San Elizario and allegedly encountered three illegal aliens. A criminal complaint alleges that, during processing, one of the illegal aliens identified two phone numbers in his phone that were used to coordinate with the intended smugglers. Further investigation led the agents to an arranged pickup. The complaint alleges that when the smuggler, Castro, arrived at the agreed upon location and the agents identified themselves, he attempted to flee at a high rate of speed. U.S. Border Patrol agents located Castro at his residence, where he was arrested. The complaint alleges Castro worked with a known smuggler and intended to pick up the illegal aliens for $1,000 and transport them to a stash house in Horizon City. Castro was previously convicted of human smuggling in 2020 and again in 2024. He was sentenced to five months and 21 months in prison, respectively, in those cases.

Francisco Irineo Rodriguez-Cordero, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested and charged with illegal entry after allegedly being found approximately 10 miles east of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry near Sierra Blanca. Rodriguez-Cordero has been previously deported four times, the last being on Nov. 24, 2025, through Nogales, Arizona. He also has three prior convictions for DUI, assault, and dangerous drugs.

Mexican national Jesus Manuel Jacquez-Beltran was arrested less than a quarter mile west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. He was deported for the third time on Jan. 15 through Harlingen. Jacquez-Beltran has been convicted of three prior illegal re-entry charges as well as assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon and aiding and abetting. He now faces a fourth illegal re-entry charge.

Arturo Ortiz, an illegal alien from Mexico, was encountered at the Bandera County Jail, after he was arrested for escape while arrested/confined and possession of a controlled substance. On March 20, he was sentenced to 10 years of probation and transferred to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. Ortiz has been previously convicted of DWI, driving with a suspended license, public lewdness, interfering with emergency request for assistance, and assault on a family member.

In San Antonio on Thursday, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers conducted a traffic stop on a driver identified as Ruben Hernandez. A criminal complaint alleges that assisting HSI agents had information that Hernandez was an illegal alien who was deported in 2010 following an illegal re-entry conviction. The complaint further alleges that a Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force Officer questioned Hernandez, leading to a search of Hernandez's apartment and the discovery of 11 bundles of cocaine amounting to 12.65 kgs. Agents also found an undetermined amount of U.S. currency that Hernandez allegedly claimed to be proceeds from cocaine trafficking. Hernandez is charged with possession with intent to distribute over five kgs of cocaine.

Jesus Elmer Amaya-Machado, an illegal alien from Honduras, was arrested by the ICE ERO Fugitive Operations Unit in San Antonio on Tuesday. A criminal complaint alleges that, as ICE agents approached Amaya-Machado, he attempted to flee into his residence, entering through a back door, though he eventually exited voluntarily and was taken into ICE custody without incident. Amaya-Machado was last removed from the U.S. in 2013 and has three DWI convictions.

Mexican national Norberto Vasquez-Almanza was arrested by ICE officers after he was pulled over for a traffic stop in Seguin on Tuesday. Vasquez was last removed from the U.S. in 2016, following a conviction for illegal re-entry. His criminal record also includes a conviction for unlawful carrying of a weapon, for which he was sentenced to one year of probation.

Over the weekend, Mexican national Saul Albadaba Arriaga was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents near Maverick. He was deported in December 2025 for the fourth time, following his sixth conviction for driving under the influence.

Abel Aguilar-Valdez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry after being deported for the sixth time on Feb. 20. Three weeks prior to his sixth removal last month, Aguilar-Valdez was convicted of this third DWI and sentenced to four years in prison.

Luis Gutierrez-Aguilar, also a Mexican national, was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry after being recently removed from the U.S. on Feb. 17 through Brownsville. Since March 26, 2024, Gutierrez-Aguilar has been convicted of multiple felonies, including illegal use of a weapon and burglary of a building.

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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