THE BREAKDOWN: Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas charged 161 individuals over a six-day span for various immigration and border-security violations. The enforcement push, running from June 12-17, caught numerous individuals with prior felony records for violent crimes and drug trafficking, while also securing prison sentences for several human smugglers who assaulted law enforcement officers.
A multi-agency law enforcement push along the Texas border has resulted in federal charges against 161 individuals over a six-day period, Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck announced. The sweep, which took place between June 12 and June 17, targeted a range of immigration-related offenses, with a significant portion of the defendants holding past criminal records.
According to prosecutors, the vast majority of those charged—104 individuals—allegedly reentered the country unlawfully after already being formally removed. Another 33 people face straight illegal entry charges, 21 are accused of human smuggling, and the remaining three cases involve miscellaneous immigration crimes. Authorities noted that many of those caught in the sweep carry prior felony convictions for offenses including narcotics trafficking, violent crimes, and past immigration violations.
Federal court documents highlight several specific individuals caught during the operation. Among them is Rodolfo Belisario Mendez-Mencho, a Guatemalan national who had been deported less than three months ago on March 29. Authorities recently located him back in the country near Sullivan City. Criminal complaints show Mendez-Mencho has a prior conviction for abuse, abandonment, or cruelty.
In a separate filing, three Mexican nationals—Jose Robledo Cruz, Jose De Jesus Garcia-Andrade, and Eduardo Lopez-Figueroa—were apprehended in the McAllen area. Prosecutors stated that all three had been previously removed from the U.S. and possess prior convictions that include felony assault by strangulation, three or more driving-while-intoxicated offenses, and trafficking controlled substances. Because they lacked legal status to be in the country, all four men face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
The judicial push also resulted in prison sentences for older cases involving violent encounters with law enforcement. Two men received 36-month federal prison sentences for separate human smuggling operations where Border Patrol agents were attacked. In one incident, Mexican national Adrian Isaac Pimentel-Garcia assaulted an agent while trying to flee through a residential neighborhood. In the second case, Juan Carlos Lopez Jr. led agents on a vehicle chase, eventually driving his vehicle directly toward an agent and crashing into a patrol unit.
In Houston, a federal judge handed down a 27-month sentence to Marco Antonio Zuniga, an undocumented Mexican national caught back in the country. Zuniga was actively serving a term of federal supervised release for a prior methamphetamine trafficking conviction when local authorities encountered him.
The heavy caseload is part of Operation Take Back America, a coordinated Department of Justice initiative aimed at stopping illegal immigration, dismantling transnational criminal organizations, and curbing violent crime.
The Southern District of Texas remains one of the heaviest federal caseloads in the United States, spanning 44,000 square miles, 43 counties, and over 10 million residents. To handle the volume, assistant U.S. attorneys across seven distinct divisions—Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen, and Laredo—coordinated directly with a massive network of law enforcement partners. Investigators from Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, the DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and the ATF all contributed to the enforcement wave alongside local and state police.
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