Over 250 New Immigration Cases Filed This Week in Western District of Texas

SAN ANTONIO - Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 255 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from October 16 through October 22, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against alien smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes, thefts, and multiple prior removals.

Among the new cases, a U.S. citizen was arrested and charged with alien smuggling after she allegedly attempted to bring two undocumented minors into the U.S. via the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that Hilary Freyre presented her Texas identification card to a Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO), along with two birth certificates-one from Texas and one from New Mexico-on behalf of two minors sitting in the backseat of her vehicle. The complaint alleges that while the CBPO was questioning the minors, Freyre repeatedly interrupted. A photo on her phone allegedly showed Freyre with two children but the officer noticed facial discrepancies between the children in the photo and the children in the vehicle. After Freyre was referred to secondary inspection, she allegedly stated the minors in the vehicle were not her children and that the birth certificates she presented actually belonged to her two biological children. Additionally, the complaint alleges, Freyre possessed $1,123 U.S. Dollars and $5400 Mexican pesos, despite claiming she had only $400 when she was initially asked.

Oscar David Hernandez-Gonzalez aka Juan Higera-Medrano was arrested after he allegedly jumped out of a rail car during a Customs and Border Protection inspection on a train at the BNSF railyard in El Paso. Hernandez-Gonzalez, an illegal alien from Mexico, has been previously removed from the U.S. seven times, the last being in 2015. He's been previously convicted of prostitution, sex battery, and burglary of a building, and now faces an illegal re-entry charge.

Raul Azahel Zubia-Alvidrez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was found and arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents just under 13 miles west of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. Zubia-Alvidrez was deported for the first time in July 2025 but has multiple felony convictions dating back to 2012, including aggravated robbery, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Juan Jose Aguilar-Gonzalez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was pulled over on Oct. 17 in Balcones Heights for driving without lights when required. According to a criminal complaint, Aguilar-Gonzalez provided the officer with a Mexican driver's license and was positively identified as a Mexican national unlawfully in the United States. Aguilar-Gonzalez was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO). Aguilar-Gonzalez is a convicted felon who, in May 2006, was convicted under the name Juan Carlos Turrubiartes-Cruz for illegal re-entry. He was convicted again in 2008 under the same name for alien smuggling. Aguilar-Gonzalez has been removed from the U.S. at least three times and now faces his second illegal re-entry charge.

Also an illegal alien from Mexico, Fermin Gonzalez-Sanchez was encountered by ICE ERO at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center following his arrest for criminal mischief. Gonzalez-Sanchez was transferred to ICE custody on Oct. 17. He has four prior convictions for illegal re-entry and now faces the same charge for the fifth time. He was most recently removed from the U.S. in July 2023.

Ruben Salazar-Lopez, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents on Oct. 17, near Eagle Pass. Salazar-Lopez is a convicted felon with two prior convictions for illegal re-entry. He was also convicted in 2017 for assault causing bodily injury to a family member. He's been removed from the U.S. four times and now faces his third illegal re-entry charge.

Anacleto Silva-Herrera is also an illegal alien from Mexico. He faces an illegal re-entry charge after being arrested near Del Rio on Oct. 16. In Dec. 2023, Silva-Herrera was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Silva-Herrera has been deported three times, the last being in July through Harlingen.

In Austin, Galdino Cortes-Cortes was arrested in Manor on Oct. 18. Cortes-Cortes is an illegal alien from Mexico who was previously removed for the second time in March 2021, following a conviction for alien smuggling. Cortes-Cortes has also been previously convicted of a DWI and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He's currently charged with illegal re-entry.

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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