South Texas — Federal prosecutors announced 248 people were charged in 245 immigration and border security-related cases filed across the Southern District of Texas from August 21-27.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, 227 of those charged are people accused of being unlawfully present in the United States.
The cases include:
• 172 criminal complaints alleging felony reentry after prior removal
• 43 people charged with illegal entry
• 26 people charged with human smuggling, including 12 who prosecutors said were themselves unlawfully present in the country
• Seven cases involving other immigration-related crimes
Federal prosecutors said many of those charged have previous felony convictions involving narcotics, violent crimes, immigration offenses and other crimes.
Among the cases highlighted was Cesar Augusto Sanchez-Cristales, a Guatemalan national who prosecutors said has a prior conviction for sexual assault of a child. Authorities allegedly encountered him near Roma after he had previously been removed from the United States in 2017.
Four Mexican nationals — Eduardo Hernandez-Sanchez, Wilber Torres-Herrera, Agustin Yanez-Reynaga and Francisco Giovanni Garcia-Hernandez — were also allegedly encountered in the McAllen area after previous removals. According to federal prosecutors, their prior convictions include offenses involving conspiracy to distribute cocaine or other controlled substances, multiple DWI convictions or burglary.
Those charged with felony illegal reentry could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, depending on the applicable circumstances.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also highlighted two recent sentences. In Laredo, Anahi Rosas was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison after authorities said she attempted to smuggle an unrelated 3-year-old boy into the United States using her own child’s Texas birth certificate.
In Brownsville, Omar Navarro-Hinojosa, 36, of Matamoros, Mexico, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for unlawfully being in the United States following a prior deportation.
The cases were referred or supported by multiple federal agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Border Patrol, DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and ATF, with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement.
Criminal complaints and indictments are accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty through due process of law.