“Operation Pick-Off” expands to Houston with arrests of foreign nationals who committed crimes while unlawfully living in the U.S.

HOUSTON - Several people who unlawfully resided in the greater Houston area are now in custody for illegal reentry into the United States after removal, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Those arrested during recent enforcement actions include Guatemalan nationals Karen Paola Cabeza-Magana aka Karen Hernandez, 29, and Julio Gonzalez-Portillo, 54; Mexican nationals David Rodriguez Solis, 52, and Jose Garcia Zamora, 39; along with Salvadoran national Jose Mario Alvarado aka Julio Mario Alvarado, 57. They remain in custody pending further criminal proceedings.

Those charged include foreign nationals from the countries of Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala. All allegedly have convictions for various state crimes, such as assault and aggravated assault of a family member, driving under the influence, and narcotics offenses, among others. They were all allegedly on probation or serving a term of supervision and were at least once already removed from the United States.

"Our office created Operation Pick-Off based upon an extremely simple concept-that a state probation sentence should not be a sanctuary from federal immigration laws. Take note, the Southern District of Texas is not a safe harbor for those who enter the United States illegally and commit crimes against our citizens," said Ganjei. "Now, these offenders, who so brazenly flouted our laws, have earned themselves a jail stay before their one-way flight home. My office promised to bring this targeted operation to every corner of the district. Promise kept."

"FBI Houston is levering its intelligence and investigative resources to locate and apprehend individuals who have allegedly committed various crimes and are residing unlawfully in the greater Houston area. All these individuals were previously convicted, deported, and re-entered the United States illegally," said FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson. "Through Operation Pick-Off, FBI Houston is partnering with the Department of Homeland Security and federal prosecutors to remove these alleged offenders from our Texas communities."

"Each of the criminal illegal aliens targeted under this operation have allegedly entered the U.S. at least once, if not multiple times unlawfully, and have gone on to commit criminal offenses in our local communities," said Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez. "By working together with the U.S. Attorney's Office to expand a commonsense operation like this to the Houston area, we can bring an end to this lawlessness and ensure these alleged criminal aliens are held accountable for their actions."

"Houston's close proximity to the Southern border has made it a magnet for dangerous criminal illegal aliens who have illegally reentered the United States multiple times and endanger public safety," said ICE - Homeland Security Investigations acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Burke. "By expanding this operation to the area and bringing together the resources and expertise of HSI, FBI, and ERO, we will be better postured to protect the local community from harm and hold these criminal illegal aliens accountable for brazenly flouting our nation's system of laws."

Operation Pick-Off began in August 2025 in the Rio Grande Valley as a multi-agency immigration and violent crime enforcement effort targeting criminal illegal aliens on state probation or supervision. The initiative has since expanded to additional regions within the Southern District of Texas which now includes Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties. While enforcement efforts in the region remain in their early stages, Operation Pick-Off will operate on a continuous basis, with authorities engaging in rolling arrests and prosecutions.

Various assistant U.S. attorneys from the Houston Division are prosecuting the cases.

ICE-ERO and FBI-Houston Field Office conducted the Houston area investigations and arrests with ICE-HSI in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The collaborative effort is 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, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

A criminal complaint or indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.