Western District of Texas Exceeds 12,000 Immigration Cases in Administration’s First Year

SAN ANTONIO - United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons announced today that the district prosecuted 11,542 border security cases and defended 652 civil immigration cases in 2025.

"In the first year of this administration, the Western District of Texas has worked tirelessly to prosecute thousands of cases that directly support border security and public safety, achieving strong and meaningful outcomes across a wide range of offenses," said U.S. Attorney Simmons. "Through Operation Take Back America, our prosecutors have partnered with the U.S. Border Patrol, ICE and Homeland Security Investigations, the DEA, the FBI, and our state and local law enforcement partners, targeting violent offenders, human smugglers, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten our communities and way of life. The many cases prosecuted last year in the Western District reflect our commitment to enforcing federal law, restoring order at the border, and ensuring that those who exploit or endanger others are held accountable in court."

Among the prosecutions, Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez was indicted as the first Mexican national charged with providing material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). According to court documents, Navarro-Sanchez conspired with others to provide and attempted to provide grenades to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). The indictment also alleged that Navarro-Sanchez engaged in alien smuggling, firearms trafficking, bulk cash smuggling, and narcotics trafficking on behalf of CJNG.

On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump directed the Justice Department and other agencies to pursue the total elimination of Mexican drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations because of the serious threat they pose to the United States and the security and stability of the U.S. border with Mexico. On Feb. 20, the U.S. Department of State announced the designation of eight international cartels, including CJNG, as FTOs and specially designated global terrorists. These designations allow prosecutors to bring much stronger criminal charges in the ongoing effort to maintain the security of our nation's borders.

The case against Navarro-Sanchez is being investigated and prosecuted by the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal 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.

In San Antonio, two convicted human smugglers were tried and sentenced in a federal court for their prominent roles in the 2022 mass casualty human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the deaths of 47 adults and six children. Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega were sentenced to life in prison and 1,050 months in prison, respectively, after being found guilty by a federal jury for transportation of aliens within the U.S. resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury, and placing lives in jeopardy.

Five other defendants in this case have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the smuggling event. Homero Zamorano Jr. is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 18; Riley Covarrubias-Ponce is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 26; Christian Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 5; and Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal is scheduled to be sentenced on April 2. Juan Francisco D'Luna Bilbao, indicted separately, is scheduled to be sentenced March 26.

In a related case, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, who was extradited from Guatemala, allegedly worked with the human smuggling organization (HSO) to smuggle aliens into the U.S. on the same fatal journey orchestrated by Orduna-Torres and his co-conspirators. Miranda-Orozco is in custody and awaiting trial.

In El Paso, Manuel Valenzuela, a lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty in federal court to four charges related to his role in a scheme to smuggle children from Mexico into the U.S.

According to court documents, members of an alien smuggling organization brought unaccompanied alien children between the ages of five and 13 illegally into the U.S. from Juarez, Mexico, sometimes using candy laced with THC to sedate them during smuggling events. The drivers and their coconspirators would then present U.S. documents to inspecting officers, falsely claiming the documents belonged to the children, and that they were the parents of the children. Once inside the United States, the children were then transported to El Paso. During one smuggling event, one of the children was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with THC poisoning.

Valenzuela was specifically responsible for picking up the children after they were smuggled into the country and providing payment to the drivers. Valenzuela was arrested on Aug. 30 with co-defendant Dianne Guadian, a U.S. citizen. Valenzuela, Guadian, and two additional co-defendants, Mexican nationals Susana Guadian and Daniel Guadian, were charged in a five-count indictment on Sept. 24.

These investigations and prosecutions are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, which is primarily tasked with combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), is a highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA's mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorney-detailees from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE HSI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA's work has resulted in more than 435 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 385 U.S. convictions; more than 330 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.

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