Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas filed 350 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases between May 22 and May 28, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons announced. The charges targeted human smugglers and illegal aliens with prior convictions for offenses including DWIs, violent crimes, burglary, patronizing prostitution, and multiple prior removals.
Of the new cases, 172 were filed in Del Rio. Among them, Jeremias Perez-Ramirez, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was charged with illegal re-entry after being deported for the fourth time in February. His criminal record includes three DWI convictions and unlawful restraint. Also arrested was Martin Roman-Barrera, an illegal alien from Mexico, who was last deported in 2014 following an aggravated battery conviction and had previous DUI misdemeanors.
In El Paso, 152 new immigration cases were filed, including an illegal re-entry charge against Ecuadorian national Luis Oswaldo Zhagui-Zhagui, who was removed from the U.S. for the third time in September 2025 and had a revoked license due to a second DWI conviction. Near Fort Hancock, Eduardo Zepeda of Midland-Odessa was charged with alien smuggling, allegedly transporting five illegal aliens to El Paso for $500 per person.
San Antonio saw Mexican national Gaspar Rodriguez-Garcia transferred into ICE custody, facing a third illegal re-entry charge after serving a three-year sentence for his third DWI conviction. These cases were supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, DEA, FBI, USMS, and ATF, alongside state and local agencies.
These enforcement actions are part of "Operation Take Back America," a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration, eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime. The Western District of Texas covers 68 counties, encompassing 93,000 square miles and sharing 660 miles of border with Mexico.