Western District of Texas Adds 316 Immigration Cases in First Week of May

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced that federal prosecutors in the district filed 316 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 2 through May 8.

Among the new cases, Cirilo Delgado-Alderete, Dilan Karim Valenzuela-Baca, and Antelmo Eligio Ramirez-Bernardo were arrested at an alleged stash house in Anthony, New Mexico. According to an affidavit, U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations agents observed three vehicles that had been identified as being used to smuggle illegal aliens to Albuquerque, New Mexico, parked at the residence. When agents questioned Ramirez-Bernardo, a Guatemalan national, they allegedly discovered he possessed a key to the residence on his keychain. Agents then located 25 individuals inside the residence who admitted to being citizens of Mexico, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Pakistan without documentation to be in the U.S. Two of the individuals, Delgado-Alderete and Valenzuela-Baca, were identified as alleged stash house caretakes and drivers to harbor and transport the illegal aliens. Delgado-Alderete, Valenzuela-Baca, and Ramirez-Bernardo are charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and one count of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.  The drivers allegedly picked up aliens in El Paso before transporting them to New Mexico.

Mexican national Erasmo Soto-Aguilar and Cesar Jared Garcia-Raucho, a U.S. citizen, were charged with statutes related to harboring illegal aliens after agents arrested them outside an alleged stash house in El Paso. A criminal complaint alleges that Soto-Aguilar had been involved in multiple smuggling schemes in which he coordinated pick-up drivers to meet and exchange illegal aliens. The complaint also alleges that Garcia-Raucho admitted to working as an illegal alien caretaker.

Leonel Sotelo-Santillan, a Mexican national, was arrested after allegedly entering a National Defense Area near El Paso illegally on May 2. Sotelo-Santillan is a convicted felon with two 2015 convictions for domestic abuse battery and theft in Louisiana, as well as a felony conviction in June 2024 for illegal re-entry. He has two prior removals, the last one being Dec. 28, 2024.

In San Antonio, Mexican national Joandel De Jesus Tierrablanca-Tellez aka Joandel Tierras Blanca was arrested after law enforcement officers allegedly observed him sell four firearms to a buyer in New Braunfels. Homeland Security Investigations had previously learned the firearms were to be sold and trafficked to Mexico for a predetermined amount of U.S. currency. A search of Tierrablanca-Tellez’s vehicle allegedly revealed his Mexican passport and an additional firearm along with .223 caliber and .308 caliber ammunition. Tierrablanca-Tellez is charged with one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm and, if convicted, faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

Alejandro Mata-Zavala, also a Mexican national, was arrested during a traffic stop in Guadalupe County on May 6. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) immigration history inquiry determined Mata-Zavala had been convicted in April 2021 for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, and was removed from the U.S. to Mexico on or about June 2, 2022. He’s currently charged with one count of illegal re-entry and faces up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.

USBP agents arrested Mexican national Tomas Medina-Martinez near Brackettville on May 1. Medina-Martinez is a two-time convicted felon with three prior removals from the U.S., the most recent being Feb. 12. Mexican national Mauro Morales-Lopezwas also arrested by USBP on May 1 near Eagle Pass. Morales-Lopez was deported Nov. 12, 2024 through Atlanta, Georgia following multiple violent misdemeanor convictions for family violence.

On May 5, Mexican national Sergio De La Cruz-Ruiz was arrested near Brackettville for being illegally present in the U.S. His criminal record includes nine deportations and multiple felony convictions. De La Cruz-Ruiz was also convicted in January 2024 for assault on a family member. His latest removal was April 18 through Harlingen.

Jorge Luis Benavides-Alvarado, a Mexican national, was encountered by federal law enforcement at the Williamson County Jail and charged with illegal re-entry. He was convicted for possession of a dangerous drug in Georgetown on May 7. In 2017, Benavides-Alvarado was convicted for aggravated robbery in Dallas. He was removed from the U.S. July 26, 2019. Also encountered at the Williamson County Jail, Mexican national Agustin Ruiz-Vazquez was convicted May 7 for assault causing bodily injury. Federally charged with illegal re-entry, Ruiz-Vazquez was previously removed from the U.S. July 10, 2014, two years after being convicted of injury to a child in Austin.

And in Midland, Salvadoran national Edenilzon Hernandez was encountered at the Ector County Detention Center in Odessa, where he was being held for indecency with child sexual contact. Now facing a federal illegal re-entry charge, Hernandez has three prior removals and a criminal history that includes convictions for burglary of a habitation, assault on a public servant and an additional assault charge.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (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.