Federal authorities in the Southern District of Texas have charged 376 individuals from August 15 to 21 as part of ongoing efforts to address illegal immigration and related crimes along the southern border, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Of those charged, 18 are accused of human smuggling, while 206 face charges for illegal entry into the United States. Another 150 individuals are charged with felony reentry after removal; many have prior convictions for offenses including narcotics violations, violent crime, and other immigration-related crimes.
One case involves Kenneth Gamboa, who was allegedly found transporting 40 undocumented immigrants in a box truck at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Jim Hogg County. Authorities discovered a false wall in the vehicle that created a hidden compartment secured with boards. Twenty-six of these individuals are also facing charges for illegal reentry after removal. If convicted of human smuggling, Gamboa could receive up to ten years in prison.
In another incident, four people—two U.S. residents and two Mexican nationals—were charged in McAllen for their alleged involvement in an alien smuggling ring operating out of Hidalgo County. The group is accused of harboring and transporting undocumented immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and India.
Mexican national Carlos Alberto Garza-Garcia was also charged this week after being found unlawfully present near Hidalgo. He had previously been removed from the country on May 29 and has a prior conviction for illegal reentry.
Additional criminal complaints name Mexican nationals Magdaleno Valadez-Ortiz, Luis Gustavo Ramos-Ibarra, and Esvan Gonzalez-Manzano as having been previously removed between 2018 and 2023 but were located again this week in the Rio Grande Valley region. Two have prior drug-related convictions; one has a previous conviction for illegal reentry. Each faces up to twenty years in prison if convicted on felony illegal reentry charges.
The week’s actions also included sentencing Honduran national Elmer Leonel Ramos-Agurcia to eighteen months in federal prison following his assault on law enforcement agents during an attempted unlawful entry at the Brownsville & Matamoros port of entry earlier this year.
Federal law enforcement agencies involved include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations; ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations; Border Patrol; Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; as well as state and local partners.
“These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners,” said officials from the Department of Justice initiative Operation Take Back America. “Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.”
“Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei’s office.
The Southern District of Texas covers forty-three counties across more than nine million people over forty-four thousand square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from seven divisions—including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo—work with various law enforcement partners to prosecute offenders.
Authorities remind that indictments or criminal complaints are formal accusations only: “A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.”
