Western District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office Files Nearly 500 Immigration Cases Through First Half of October

SAN ANTONIO - Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 476 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from October 2 through October 15, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against alien smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes, thefts, numerous DWIs, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, in Austin, Alexi Tellez-Gonzalez, was charged with illegal re-entry. He has prior convictions for theft, burglary of a building, evading arrest, possession of marijuana, DWI, and assault causing bodily injury.

Hector Castro-Lopez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was also charged with illegal re-entry for the second time. Castro-Lopez has prior convictions for failure to identify and assault family violence. He has also twice been convicted of violating a protective order and burglary of a habitation.

Gerardo Torres-Sanchez was found in the Travis County Jail and identified as an illegal alien from Mexico. Torres-Sanchez has been deported 11 times and has five convictions for illegal re-entry.

Illegal alien from Mexico Raul Reyes-Hernandez aka Aurelio Reyes-Hernandez was found in the Washington County Jail in Brenham. Reyes-Hernandez was convicted in 2023 for alien smuggling and money laundering. He's now charged with illegal re-entry.

A Lebanese man with a Legal Permanent Resident Card was arrested in Fort Hancock and charged with alien smuggling. A criminal complaint alleges that Abdallah Mohamad Alhussni was working as a rideshare driver when he joined a Facebook group to find higher paying work, which led him to communications with an alien smuggling facilitator on WhatsApp. He allegedly conducted 10 smuggling trips, transporting approximately 20 individuals from the Fort Hancock area to various locations in El Paso for approximately $150 per trip.

An illegal alien from Honduras is charged with impersonating another and attempting to evade immigration laws by appearing under an assumed or fictitious name. Meslin Donaldo Gutierres-Cruz allegedly presented a State of Colorado birth certificate with the name and birth date of an individual with the initials of M.G. when he applied for admission into the U.S. at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry on Wednesday. A criminal complaint alleges that a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer scanned Gutierres-Cruz's fingerprints, revealing he was previously removed from the U.S. on Aug. 9. Gutierres-Cruz has been deported a total of seven times and has multiple prior convictions, including driving without a license and possession of cocaine.

Amaurys Gutierrez-Nunez, an illegal alien from Cuba, was arrested near Eagle Pass and charged with illegal re-entry. Gutierrez-Nunez was previously deported for the first time in July 2025 but has an extensive criminal record that includes two convictions for grand theft, multiple petty theft convictions, resisting an officer, and driving with a suspended license.

Illegal alien from Mexico Julian Garcia-Soto was arrested near Carrizo Springs and charged with illegal re-entry. Garcia-Soto has been previously removed from the U.S. three times and has three DUI convictions, along with a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, and for obstructing a public officer.

Omar Alberto Sanchez-Briones, an illegal alien from Honduras, is charged with illegal re-entry following his arrest near Eagle Pass. Sanchez-Briones was convicted in California earlier this year of his third burglary charge and one battery count. He's been deported twice, the last being in May 2025 through Phoenix, Arizona.

Illegal alien from Mexico Jose Miguel Aguilar aka Miguel Angel Aguilar Bustillo was arrested near Comstock after just being removed from the U.S. on Sept. 11 through Harlingen. Aguilar has been previously convicted of bringing in and harboring aliens, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, failure to identify, and assault causing bodily injury to a family member. He now faces a charge of illegal re-entry.

Illegal alien from Honduras Jose Luis Masias-Milla was arrested near Eagle Pass and charged with illegal reentry. He was deported for the first time on May 20 through Harlingen but has two DWI convictions and a conviction for unlawful carrying of a weapon on alcohol premises.

Luis Alberto Guajardo, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested near Eagle Pass and faces his second illegal re-entry charge. He's been deported from the U.S. five times, the last being in August 2022, and has been convicted of three DWIs as well as making a terroristic threat against a public servant and possession of a controlled substance.

In San Antonio, Melvin Acosta-Martinez was encountered at the Bexar County Jail after he was arrested for theft of property greater than $30,000 and less than $150,000, according to a criminal complaint filed on Oct. 9. Acosta-Martinez is an illegal alien from Honduras whose criminal record includes a conviction for assaulting a federal officer, which resulted in a 237-day prison sentence. He has also been previously convicted of a DWI and illegal re-entry. He now faces his second illegal re-entry charge.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas-San Antonio, Austin and El Paso-and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

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.

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.

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