Evergreen Reporter

Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas have initiated 259 new immigration-related criminal cases, covering the period from March 28 through April 3. Margaret Leachman, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, made the announcement in San Antonio.

The array of cases includes the arrest of Mexican national Miguel Angel Torres-Segura on March 28. Torres-Segura, residing illegally in San Antonio, is charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. Allegations detail his involvement in a sophisticated human smuggling operation, utilizing tractor trailers for illicit transportation, and resulting in the apprehension of over 900 undocumented individuals between May 2021 and June 2022. Torres-Segura has prior convictions for illegal re-entry.

Another case involves Miguel Andres Aguilar, arrested in Presidio County, Texas, on March 26. Aguilar, a Mexican citizen, has been deported from the United States four times before, with the last removal occurring in February 2017 through San Ysidro, California.

At the Camino Real International Bridge II in Eagle Pass, Texas, Roman Lagunas-Nazario was detected carrying a semi-automatic pistol in his luggage on March 31. Lagunas-Nazario, a permanent resident alien, confessed to intending to smuggle the firearm to Mexico for payment. He now faces charges of smuggling goods from the United States, carrying a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

In another incident on March 27, Victor Alfonso Cruz-Garcia was charged with illegal reentry after deportation in Del Rio, Texas. Cruz-Garcia, previously removed from the United States twice, has a conviction for second-degree murder.

Additional cases feature various individuals, including Juan Sebastian Cortez-Calzada, arrested at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry; Ronald Keith Henderson Jr., detained near Eagle Pass for transporting individuals who had just crossed the Rio Grande River; and Carlos Heliberto Solares y Solares, a Guatemalan citizen, apprehended at a checkpoint in Hudspeth County, Texas, without valid immigration documents.

Leonela Alejandra Prado-Sanchez, Gabriel Gonzalez Carillo, Kelvin Sauceda-Reyes, Luis Alberto Escobedo-Duenas, and Eduardo Garcia-Gutierrez are among others facing various charges related to illegal presence and reentry into the United States.

The cases, part of Operation Take Back America, witness collaboration between numerous federal law enforcement agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the FBI, among others. This initiative aligns resources to combat illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations.

Margaret Leachman stated that "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."

###