U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 112 Border-Related Cases This Week

SAN DIEGO - Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 112 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world's busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America's eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico's second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:

• On September 30, 2026, Yi Zhao, a Lawful Permanent Resident, was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered an undocumented Vietnamese national concealed inside a non-factory compartment under a third-row seat of the vehicle Zhao was driving as he applied for entry to the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Customs and Border Protection officers had to remove a bolt from the third-row seat to gain access to the compartment.
• On September 30, 2026, Giovanni Augusto Alvarez Jr., a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 84 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the rear back panel, windshield vent, backseat cushion, back of driver seat, back of passenger seat, backrest of backseat, rear quarter panel, rear right quarter panel, and cabin air filter of his 2017 Hyundai Accent the defendant was driving as he applied for entry to the U.S. at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
• September 25, 2026, Mayra Guadalupe Sanchez Magana, a Mexican Citizen and border crossing card holder, was arrested and charged with Importation of Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 25 pounds of cocaine concealed in the dashboard of the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu the defendant was driving as she applied for entry to the U.S. at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, 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), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.