316 New Immigration Cases Filed in Western District of Texas This Week

SAN ANTONIO – United States Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced today that federal prosecutors in the district filed 316 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from Dec. 5 to Dec. 11. Charges were brought against illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes and DWIs, as well as alleged human smugglers and aliens with prior removals.

Francisco Javier Navarro-Ramirez, a Legal Permanent Resident born in Mexico, was arrested near Tornillo and charged with human smuggling. A criminal complaint alleges Navarro-Ramirez was the driver of a vehicle travelling at high speeds with multiple individuals inside. Navarro-Ramirez allegedly did not yield to U.S. Border Patrol emergency lights and was eventually stopped by a tire deflation device deployed by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. The complaint alleges that Navarro-Ramirez was quickly apprehended after he attempted to flee on foot, and five illegal aliens were found inside the vehicle.

A Salvadoran national was arrested by USBP agents near Maverick for being illegally present in the U.S. Douglas Alexis Bautista-Arevalo was removed to El Salvador for the second time on Sept. 4 and has been previously convicted for two DWIs. In March, he was convicted for assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

In Austin, Mexican nationals Juan David Barajas-Armas and Noe Mendez-Salazar were each charged with illegal re-entry. Barajas-Armas has two prior removals and has been convicted of three DWIs and obstructing a highway/passageway. Mendez-Salazar has also been removed twice before and has three DWI convictions.

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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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.

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