Federal prosecutors in the Western and Southern districts of Texas filed nearly 700 border enforcement cases this month.
The announcements on Monday reported that most of these cases stem from immigration- and border-security-related offenses.
Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District reported that 476 cases have been filed, bringing charges against “alien smugglers” and illegal aliens with previous convictions of various violent crimes.
Included in the cases are several illegal aliens from Mexico, Honduras, and Cuba, who had previously been convicted of crimes such as theft, DUI, DWI, unlawful possession of a weapon, and illegal re-entry.
The district also reported that Abdallah Mohamad Alhussn, a Lebanese man with a legal permanent resident card, was arrested and charged with alien smuggling. Alhussn allegedly conducted 10 smuggling trips from the Fort Hancock area to El Paso and received approximately $150 per trip.
Since October 9, more than 200 individuals have been charged in the Southern District of Texas.
“A total of 161 criminal complaints were filed for felony reentry after prior removal, while another 16 people face charges of illegal entry,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District. “Most of those illegal aliens have prior felonies such as narcotics, violent crime, immigration crimes, and more.”
An additional 22 individuals have been charged with human smuggling, and another four were “charged this week” in cases relating “to other immigration crimes and firearms charges.”
Additionally, Robert Martinez Jr., a Needville resident, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for smuggling illegal aliens in a tractor-trailer. Authorities discovered the 10 concealed illegal aliens after stopping Martinez at a Border Patrol checkpoint.
These cases were handled by federal authorities with the help of state and local law enforcement.
