District of Arizona Charges 114 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this Week (DOJ)

PHOENIX, Ariz. - During the week of enforcement operations from June 28, 2025, through July 4, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 114 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 60 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 45 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 7 cases against 8 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona. Protecting law enforcement officers is a key part of border vigilance, and federal prosecutors also charged one individual for assaulting a Customs and Border Protection Officer.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Recent matters of interest include:

United States v. Marselino Garcia-Gonzalez: On June 27, 2025, Border Patrol Agents attempted to conduct a stop on Marselino Garcia-Gonzalez while he was driving a vehicle on Arizona Highway 93. Garcia-Gonzalez failed to yield, attempting to flee law enforcement by driving over 106 miles per hour. He eventually slammed on the brakes and stopped in the median of the highway. Three subjects, including Garcia-Gonzalez, then exited the vehicle and ran across the northbound lanes of Highway 93. All three subjects were ultimately apprehended. The two passengers were citizens of Mexico, illegally present in the United States. One of the passengers was an unaccompanied 14-year-old male. Garcia-Gonzalez was charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien. [Case Number: 25-MJ-01710]

United States v. Victor Adolfo Zepeda-Arreola: On July 1, 2025, Victor Adolfo Zepeda-Arreola, was charged by criminal complaint with Re-entry of a Removed Alien. Zepeda-Arreola had been previously removed from the United States in 2023 after being convicted of Attempted Burglary in the Third Degree for Purposes of Sexual Gratification, a felony, in the Superior Court of Arizona, Pima County. [Case Number: 25-MJ-06270]

A criminal complaint is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

These 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-111_July 4 Immigration Enforcement

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, visit https://http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/Follow the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.