U.S. Attorney’s Office Adds Nearly 300 New Immigration Cases in Western District of Texas

SAN ANTONIO - Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 292 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from August 7 through August 13, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against alien smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for numerous DWIs, violent crimes, thefts, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, illegal alien from Mexico Marco Antonio Dominguez-Barranco aka Isaias Salvador Gonzalez Jr., allegedly presented himself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry using a U.S. passport baring his photo but another individual's name and date of birth. A criminal complaint affidavit alleges that Dominguez-Barranco stated he was looking for his godchildren, causing CBP officers to suspect he may have been associated with a recent smuggling event involving two minors. According to the allegations in the affidavit, Dominguez-Barranco admitted that he had participated in the smuggling event, crossed back into Mexico, and was returning illegally to the U.S. in order to transport the children to Denver, Colorado. Dominguez-Barranco is now charged with alien smuggling.

Erick Manuel Martinez-Mendez, an illegal alien from Cuba, allegedly made misrepresentations to gain entry to the United States through the Paso Del Norte POE. A criminal complaint affidavit alleges Martinez-Mendez presented a State of Texas birth certificate and a copy of a Texas identification card with the name and date of birth of another individual. Martinez-Mendez allegedly claimed that he lived in El Paso and had been in Mexico to visit his hospitalized mother. A fingerprint scan revealed Martinez-Mendez's identity and that he had been removed from the United States in November 2025. Furthermore, his criminal record includes convictions for robbery/home invasion/armed kidnapping, for which he was sentenced to 17 years in prison; third-degree grand theft and dealing in stolen property, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison; aggravated battery of a person detained in prison, which earned him a six-year prison sentence; and, most recently, smuggling contraband into prison and resisting an officer/battery on law enforcement, for which he was sentenced to four years and eight months.

U.S. citizen Magdalena Lachica was charged with harboring illegal aliens after U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered 14 illegal aliens inside a residence Lachica was allegedly renting. A criminal complaint affidavit alleges that Lachica's cell phone contained communications involving alien smuggling, including alien dropoff locations, multiple stash house addresses, and co-conspirator information. Agents also allegedly discovered proof of life videos on her phone.

USBP agents conducted a traffic stop for suspected alien smuggling on Highway 277 near Brackettville. A criminal complaint alleges that several occupants fled the vehicle. One of the fleeing occupants, Yunior Omar Arita-Trimino, an illegal alien from Honduras, allegedly shoved an agent in the upper chest and arms, resisted arrest, and struck the agent multiple times with a black bag before breaking free into oncoming highway traffic. Arita-Trimino was ultimately arrested and charged with assaulting and resisting a federal officer engaged in performance of official duties.

An illegal alien from Brazil was arrested near Eagle Pass and charged with illegal re-entry. Fabio De Carvalho Fernandes has been deported from the U.S. three times, the last being in December 2014, following a felony conviction for bringing in and harboring aliens.

Francisco Gallegos-Garza, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested near Del Rio. Gallegos-Garza also has three prior deportations, the last being in June 2019. His criminal record includes two DWI convictions, assault causing bodily injury, and a felony for injury to a child with intent to inflict bodily injury.

In Austin, illegal alien from Mexico Ranferie Monroy Escuadra is charged with illegal re-entry after being found in the Travis County Jail, where he was booked for unlawfully carrying a weapon. Escuadra has been removed from the U.S. twice, the last being in November 2020, and he has three DWI convictions on his criminal record.

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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