Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 281 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases between May 8 and May 14, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons announced. These charges target human smugglers, alleged visa fraudsters, and individuals with past convictions for serious offenses including DWIs, violent crimes, and drug trafficking, as well as those with multiple prior removals.
Among the cases, Encarnacion Lopez-Sanchez, an illegal alien from Mexico residing in Crane, faces charges of fraud and misuse of visas. Lopez-Sanchez, wanted in Mexico for sexual assault of a minor, allegedly used a limited border crossing card to enter the U.S. and later obtained a fraudulent I-94 form. He is accused of working at an energy company in Crane using fraudulent employment documents and sending money to Mexico.
In El Paso, Yovani Garcia-Cruz, a U.S. citizen previously convicted of smuggling, is now federally charged with alien smuggling, allegedly serving as a pick-up driver in an operation that led to 14 illegal aliens found in a stash house. Erik Rangel-Martinez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was also charged with alien smuggling after allegedly attempting to escape into Mexico with 11 others near the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry.
Other significant cases include Jaime Rodriguez-Corral, a Mexican citizen with a felony record and prior removals, who allegedly presented himself as a U.S. citizen at the Bridge of the Americas POE. Illegal re-entry charges were also filed against Santiago Florencio Velazquez-Tobon, an illegal alien with a history of violent crimes; Erlin Omar Martinez-Carcamo, a Honduran national with multiple DWI convictions; Isaias Garcia-Reynoso, a Mexican national with prior deportations; and Christopher Jesus Carbajal-Lopez, a Honduran felon previously removed.
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 cases received support from various federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.