U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 111 Border-Related Cases This Week

SAN DIEGO - Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 111 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 October 11, Rafael Perez Rosario, a Mexican national, was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. According to a complaint, U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered Perez Rosario hiding in a bush in a remote area near the U.S.-Mexico border, approximately two miles east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. He was apprehended after a foot chase. Perez Rosario was previously being deported to Mexico on August 5, 2026.
• On October 12, Lemuel Muniz-Valle, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered approximately 115 pounds of methamphetamine concealed inside the doors, dashboard and fuel tank of the 2016 Honda Accord he was driving as he applied for entry to the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
• On October 14, Summer Smith, a United States citizen, was arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, Smith had 139 grams of fentanyl hidden under clothing as she attempted to cross the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry pedestrian lanes.

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.