Texas Border Business
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas
HOUSTON – A total of 275 cases have been filed related to immigration and border security from Dec. 12-18.
In total, 79 people face charges of illegal entry and another 171 face felony reentry charges after removal. Many of those charged have prior felony convictions involving narcotics, violent crime and immigration offenses. The charges also include 23 individuals accused of engaging in human smuggling, while the remaining five face charges related to other immigration crimes.
Among those charged this week are Diego Alan Martnez-Barajas, Pedro Gregorio-Alonzo and Nelson Antonio Segovia-Segovia. According to court documents, authorities discovered all three men in the McAllen area following prior removals from the United States within the last four months. Each allegedly has prior convictions, including abandonment/endangerment of a child, forgery, domestic abuse and illegal reentry.
Two Mexican national discovered near Rio Grande City also face new criminal charges. The complaints allege Jose Alvarez-Ontiveros and Simon Brambila-Galvan entered the United States unlawfully. According to court documents, the men were part of a group of illegal aliens and human traffickers. During the encounter, one member from the group assaulted a Border Patrol agent, prompting a shooting that resulted in that person’s death.
If convicted, all five men face up to 20 years in prison.
In addition to these new cases, a father and son in Laredo pleaded guilty to trafficking at least 534 firearms, along with magazines and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Authorities stopped Emilio Ramirez Cortes and his son, Edgar Emilio Ramirez Diaz, at the Juarez-Lincoln Port of Entry Oct. 23. Following a K-9 alert, law enforcement discovered false walls within their trailers. A search uncovered approximately 534 firearms and more than 31,000 rounds of ammunition.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Updated December 19, 2025
