Federal prosecutors charged 247 people, including 232 illegal aliens, in 239 immigration and border security related cases during the first week of September, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The charges, filed from Aug. 28 through Sept. 3, included 171 criminal complaints for felony reentry after prior removal, 41 illegal entry cases, and 42 people charged with human smuggling, including 20 illegal aliens. The remaining cases involved other immigration-related crimes and firearms offenses.
Most of the illegal aliens charged had prior felony convictions involving narcotics, violent crimes, immigration offenses, and other crimes, according to federal prosecutors.
An increase in border enforcement cases comes as the Department of Justice pursues Operation Take Back America, a national initiative that calls on the resources of the Department of Justice to prevent the intrusion of illegal aliens, eliminate cartels, and protect communities from crime.
Established in March of 2025, the initiative seeks to put core Trump administration policies into action.
Through Operation Take Back America, federal, state, and local police agencies share information to target violent offenders, illegal gun sales, and human traffickers.
According to the Department of Justice, three of the illegal aliens charged during the first week of September had already been removed from the United States earlier this year but returned to the Rio Grande Valley, according to new criminal complaints.
The three defendants include Honduran national Junior Fidel Ramos-Leiva, who has a prior conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon and Mexican nationals Brayan Valadez-Hernandez and Brayan Gutierrez-Salvador, who have two prior felony drug convictions and an alien smuggling conviction.
They each face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
The cases were referred to or supported by several federal law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. State and local law enforcement agencies also assisted with the investigations.
