U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico Weekly Immigration and Border Crimes Report

ALBUQUERQUE - Today, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico announced its immigration enforcement statistics for this week. These cases are prosecuted in partnership with the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, along with Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, and assistance from other federal, state, and county agencies.

In the two-week period ending May 15, 2026, the United States Attorney's Office brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico:

• 90 individuals were charged with Illegal Reentry After Deportation (8 U.S.C. 1326)
• 12 individuals were charged with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324)
• 75 individuals were charged with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325)
• 69 individuals were charged with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325), violation of a military security regulation (50 U.S.C. 797) and Entering Military, Naval, or Coast Guard Property (18 U.S.C. 1382), arising from the newly established National Defense Area in New Mexico.

Many of the defendants charged pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1326 had prior criminal convictions for battery resulting in injury, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, possession of narcotics, DUI, theft, drug trafficking, alien smuggling, resulting in injury, DUI, alien smuggling, and prior immigration offenses.

Protecting law enforcement officers is a key part of border security. During this time period, while detained on suspicion of alien smuggling by Border Patrol, Caleb Brown shoved and then punched an agent in the face. A second agent intervened and was also struck by Brown. Brown was eventually subdued and arrested. In a second incident, agents responded to a sensor activation near the border and began searching for the suspected illegal aliens. One agent eventually located Edel Hernandez-Altamirano, a Mexican national illegally present in the United States. When the agent attempted to detain him, Hernandez-Altamirano rushed at the agent with a glass liquor bottle and struck him in the head. The agent ultimately took Hernandez-Altamirano to the ground, however, Hernandez-Altamirano began grabbing rocks and attempting to strike the agent and even bit him on the forearm.

So far, in Fiscal Year 2026, 23 El Paso Sector Border Patrol Agents have been assaulted, following 88 assaults in Fiscal Year 2025. U.S. Border Patrol is collaborating closely with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office to ensure that those who assault federal officers are brought to justice. This interagency cooperation is crucial in protecting the men and women who serve on the frontlines of our nation's border security efforts and in deterring future attacks on law enforcement personnel.

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.

These statistics represent prosecutions by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico only. The numbers do not include individuals apprehended by immigration enforcement officials and subjected solely to administrative process.

Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the District of New Mexico. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.

The District of New Mexico consists of 33 counties and shares 180 miles of international border with Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from Albuquerque and Las Cruces work directly with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to prosecute immigration-related and other federal offenses.