SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 234 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from July 10 through July 16, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against human smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for numerous DWIs, violent crimes, thefts, and multiple prior removals.Among the new cases, two illegal aliens were arrested as the result of a stash house disruption in El Paso on July 13.
A criminal complaint alleges U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Ysleta Border Patrol Station observed Jorge Lucero-Banda, an illegal alien from Mexico, and Diogenes Silva-Orozco, an illegal alien from Nicaragua, depart and later return to an apartment that had been under investigation for alien smuggling activities. A search of Silva-Orozco’s cell phone allegedly revealed numerous videos and photos depicting illegal aliens inside a separate residence where agents later encountered 14 illegal aliens. The complaint alleges Lucero-Banda served as a caretaker at the stash house as was paid $1,000 per week.
Lucero-Banda and Silva-Orozco are charged with bringing in and harboring aliens.Jorge Camacho-Olivas, an illegal alien from Mexico who has been previously deported eight times, allegedly attempted to enter the U.S. on Tuesday by eluding inspection from U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that the day after his most recent removal, CBP officers observed Camacho-Olivas moving on foot alongside a truck that was driving up to an inspection booth. He was then detained.
Camacho-Olivas has a 15-year history of multiple illegal re-entry convictions and one conviction for alien smuggling.Antonio Gomez-Raygoza, also an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested after he allegedly presented a copy of his Mexican Voters Registration Card to a CBP officer at the Paso Del Norte POE and claimed to be a U.S. citizen. A system query on his name revealed Gomez-Raygoza has been removed from the U.S. six times and has been convicted for illegal re-entry, auto theft and first-degree burglary.An Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office deputy conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for speeding and discovered the driver, Lester Josue Hernandez Flores, was an illegal alien from Honduras who has been previously removed from the U.S. six times. Hernandez was arrested and turned over to ICE custody. During an inventory search of Hernandez’s vehicle prior to impoundment, ACSO allegedly discovered a .45 caliber handgun with a magazine containing one round.
Hernandez is now charged with one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm and, if convicted, faces up to 10 years in federal prison with a maximum $250,000 fine.Alfonso Landin Garcia, an illegal alien from Mexico, was transferred into ICE custody from the Bexar County Jail where he had been booked for evading arrest. Landin has three DUI convictions on his record and is now charged with illegal re-entry.Also an illegal alien from Mexico, Efrain Dominguez Arenas aka Juan Hernandez Ramirez was transferred into ICE custody from the Bastrop County Jail. Dominguez has been removed from the U.S. six times and has three DWI convictions.German Alejandro Contreras-Enamorado, an illegal alien from Honduras, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents near Eagle Pass and charged with illegal re-entry.
Contreras-Enamorado has been deported three times and was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in November 2020. Illegal alien from Cuba, Yorman Reyes-Marin aka Mikel Rodriguez Masaguer, was arrested near Eagle Pass and charged with illegal re-entry. Reyes-Marin was deported for the first time in October 2025 yet has a lengthy criminal record that includes multiple assault convictions, including one aggravated assault conviction, along with disorderly conduct and trespassing.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.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.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.###