More Than 1700 New Immigration Cases Filed by Western District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office During Government Shutdown

SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the district filed 1,709 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases since the beginning of the six-week government shutdown, according to United States Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. “Despite not getting paid for the past six weeks, the Western District of Texas maintained its diligent pursuit of bringing to justice those who would violate our immigration laws,” said Mr. Simmons. “I’m so proud of and thankful for all of our Western District of Texas team members who remained committed to the cause despite the difficult circumstances imposed upon them.” On Nov. 10, U.S. citizen Juan Jesus Carranza Jr., of Laredo, was arrested for allegedly transporting five undocumented aliens. A criminal complaint alleges that Carranza led Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and deputies from the McMullen County and Atascosa County Sheriff’s Offices on a high-speed chase, driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen out of Bexar County. Carranza eventually crashed on State Highway 16 in Bexar County, allegedly bailing out of the vehicle with the five aliens. Carranza and four of the aliens were arrested and transported to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. The fifth alien was injured, transported to a hospital for treatment, then transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for immigration processing. A DPS trooper involved in the vehicle crash sustained an injury, breaking his arm in two places and requiring surgery. Carranza was charged with alien smuggling and, if convicted, faces up to 20 years in federal prison. On Oct. 15, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Gerardo Francisco Hernandez-Acosta, a U.S. citizen, after he was allegedly observed picking up four illegal aliens in Fort Hancock. According to a criminal complaint, Hernandez-Acosta expected to be paid $100 per alien to transport them from the pickup location to the Greyhound bus station in El Paso. Hernandez-Acosta’s lengthy criminal record spans from 1983 to 2021 and includes six convictions for burglary of a vehicle, along with five additional convictions for property theft. He was indicted on Nov. 12 for one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and one count of transporting aliens for financial gain. Two illegal aliens were arrested in San Antonio in late October on criminal charges related to their alleged firearm possession. Derian Lenin Estupinan Chacon, 20, of Ecuador, and Francarlos Requena Vasquez, 22, of Venezuela, came to the attention of Homeland Security Investigations and the San Antonio Police Department in connection to SAPD’s investigation of a shooting. On Oct. 15, as part of their investigation, SAPD officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle allegedly driven by Estupinan. A criminal complaint alleges that the front passenger in the vehicle was identified as Requena and that SAPD officers observed a .40 caliber handgun in plain view on one of the vehicle seats. According to the complaint, Requena had recently purchased the handgun on Facebook Marketplace, but Estupinan was in physical possession of handgun at the time of the traffic stop. Manuel Elias Ramos-Santos, a Honduran national, was arrested in the San Antonio area and charged with one count of alien in possession of a firearm on Oct. 26. Ramos-Santos was pulled over by a Castle Hills Police Department officer for a speeding violation. A criminal complaint alleges that Ramos-Santos was not in possession of a driver’s license, leading to him being detained and then referred to ICE. A search of his vehicle allegedly led to the discovery of a 9mm handgun with a fully loaded magazine. The complaint also alleges that Ramos-Santos was in possession of a counterfeit $100 bill, a counterfeit Social Security card, and a counterfeit Legal Permanent Resident Card. Mexican national Florentino Cortes Uribe was arrested Oct. 28 after he allegedly sold cocaine and firearms to an undercover law enforcement officer on multiple occasions. A criminal complaint alleges that Uribe sold one ounce of cocaine to a San Antonio Police detective on Oct. 6 and said that he could also sell firearms to the officer. On Oct. 14, Uribe again sold an ounce of cocaine to the detective, along with an AM-15 multi-caliber pistol that the undercover officer stated would be smuggled into Mexico, according to the complaint. On Oct. 28, Uribe met with the SAPD detective for a third time, selling another ounce of cocaine and two pistols. Uribe is charged with one count of firearms trafficking and one count of illegal alien in possession of a firearm. In El Paso, Mexican national Hugo Fabian Cazarez-Garcia was arrested on Oct. 30, after he claimed his entry documents were stolen, and he was denied entry into the U.S. through the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. Cazarez-Garcia has previously been removed from the U.S. to Mexico eight times, the most recent being Dec. 5, 2024, following an eight-month imprisonment for his second DUI. In addition to his two DUIs, Cazarez-Garcia has twice been convicted for burglary. 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).