Memorial Day weekend shooting part of 250 new cases filed in ongoing border security efforts

HOUSTON - A total of 259 individuals have been charged in immigration and related crimes from May 22-28 as part of Operation Take Back America, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.

The Southern District of Texas has filed cases against 160 illegal aliens for unlawfully reentering the United States and another 69 for illegal entry. Many have previous convictions related to narcotics trafficking, immigration offenses, violent crimes and more. An additional 28 people face charges of engaging in human smuggling, while the remaining matters relate to other immigration crimes and firearms charges.

Among those is an illegal alien from Mexico who allegedly fired an AR-style rifle at multiple individuals in New Caney over the holiday weekend. The charges allege Juan Ayala-Montero retrieved the rifle from his residence and fired multiple rounds toward a group of individuals, striking one victim in the torso and head. Authorities allegedly recovered an Olympic Arms .223 AR-Style rifle and approximately 30 spent shell casings at the scene. The charges further allege Ayala-Montero had been previously removed from the United States and was unlawfully present in the country. If convicted of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, Ayala-Montero faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

Criminal complaints also allege two illegal aliens unlawfully reentered the country without authorization. One is Marcos Ismael Escobar-Sosa, a Cuban national found near Mission, according to the charges. He allegedly has a prior conviction for felony credit card abuse and was most recently removed Feb. 6.

Authorities also allegedly found a Mexican illegal alien near Donna this week. Gustavo Arroyo-Anaya has a conviction for burglary and was sentenced to two years in prison before his removal in 2025, according to the complaint.

Both men could receive up to 20 years in federal prison, upon conviction.

In addition to the new cases, Leonardo Cordona-Hernandez, an illegal alien from Mexico, received a 72-month federal prison sentence for illegally reentering the country again. He was first ordered removed in 2011, but law enforcement later discovered him in Houston in February 2024 with no authorization to be in the United States. Cordona-Hernandez has prior felony convictions for robbery, drug trafficking and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

The cases are 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 10 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.