PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from July 18 through July 24, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 310 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 114 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 175 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 20 cases against 21 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), ICE- Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), 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).Recent matters of interest include:U.S. v. Rubicel Nunez-Sanchez.
Rubicel Nunez-Sanchez was charged by criminal complaint on July 20, 2026, with Transportation of an Illegal Alien for Profit. On July 19, Border Patrol Agents (BPAs) observed a Ford F-150 with North Carolina plates driving near the Mexico border in the San Rafael Valley, an area frequently used for human smuggling. Based on their observations, BPAs initiated a vehicle stop to conduct an immigration inspection, but the driver, Nunez-Sanchez, failed to yield. Nunez-Sanchez eventually pulled over to the side of the road where five subjects got out and ran away.
He then continued driving, only stopping after his vehicle was incapacitated by BPAs with a vehicle immobilization device. BPAs located the five subjects that gotten out of Nunez-Sanchez’s vehicle and determined that they were all citizens and nationals of Mexico and Columbia, unlawfully present in the United States. [Case Number: 26-MJ-05258]United States v. Ahumada-Lugo, et al. On July 23, 2026, Jose Raul Ahumada-Lugo and Rony Ramirez-Valenzuela were charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien.
Ramirez-Valenzuela was also charged with Reentry of a Removed Alien. On July 21, a deputy with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop on Ahumada-Lugo, who was driving a Ford F-150 with four passengers. The deputy noticed camouflage clothing and backpacks in the back seat and called Border Patrol for assistance. BPAs confirmed that all five occupants in the truck were citizens of Mexico, unlawfully present in the United States.
BPAs also learned that the front seat passenger, Ramirez-Valenzuela, was previously removed from the United States on August 15, 2017, and was assisting with smuggling the other passengers. [Case Number: 26-MJ-6287]The 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. A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.RELEASE NUMBER: 2026-126_July 24, 2026 Immigration Enforcement# # #For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/Follow the U.S.
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