District of Arizona Charges 124 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this Week (DOJ)

PHOENIX, Ariz. - During the week of enforcement operations from July 12, 2025, through July 18, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 124 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 62 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 54 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.

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. Arnold Perez: On July 12, Border Patrol Agents watched as a group of four suspected illegal aliens enter a Toyota RAV4 in the Coronado National Park. Agents initiated a vehicle stop, but the driver failed to yield and quickly accelerated to over 80 mph. Agents deployed a Vehicle Immobilization Device and successfully spiked the vehicle, but the driver continued driving with smoke coming from the front tires, lost control, and drove into a grassy field and through a barbed wire fence before coming to a stop. The driver, later identified as Arnold Perez, and two passengers ran from the vehicle. Agents apprehended Perez and the other subjects who ran, along with two additional individuals who remained in the vehicle. The four passengers were determined to be citizens of Mexico illegally present in the United States. Perez was charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien for Profit. [Case Number: 25-MJ-02295]

United States v. Luis Sahid Guanin-Manzaba: On July 13, Luis Sahid Guanin-Manzaba entered the primary inspection lane for the Interstate 19 Border Patrol Checkpoint in a Chevrolet Malibu. At secondary inspection, agents determined that the passenger in the Malibu was a citizen of Mexico, illegally present in the United States. Agents then searched the trunk of the vehicle and discovered another individual who was also determined to be a citizen of Mexico, illegally present in the United States. Guanin-Manzaba was charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien for Profit. [Case Number: 25-MJ-02338]

United States v. Jasiel Antonio Moreno-Cuevas: On July 16, Jasiel Antonio Moreno-Cuevas was charged by criminal complaint with Re-entry of a Removed Alien. Moreno-Cuevas had been previously removed from the United States in 2014 after being convicted of Aid and Abet Impersonation of a United States Citizen, a felony, in the United States District Court, District of Arizona. Moreno-Cuevas was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. [Case Number: 25-MJ-08369]

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).

A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-121_July 18 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/

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