Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 84 border-related cases this week. The charges include bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the United States after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.
The Southern District of California is one of the busiest federal districts due to its high number of border-related crimes. This district covers San Diego and Imperial counties and shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which is recognized as the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego and Tijuana.
In addition to handling reactive border-related crimes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this district also prosecutes proactive cases involving terrorism, organized crime, drug offenses, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking, and national security.
A sample of arrests made this week includes:
On February 13, Mexican nationals Carlos Cortes De La Cruz and Carlos Cortes Garcia were arrested and charged with Attempted Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, “the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the vessel which was dead in the water and riding low under the weight of the passengers, off the coast of Point Loma. Officials deemed the vessel unsafe and transported the passengers to Ballast Point, where the defendants were arrested by Border Patrol.” Other Mexican nationals—Jorge Andrade-Guzman, Aristeo Cortez-Abarca, Jose Antonio Lorenzo De La Cruz, Allan Alfonso Mancilla Garcia, Lorenzo Meza Hernandez, Sergio Luis Rico-Ornelas, Ciriaco Rojas-Duarte, Luis Vargas-Vill and Javier Zavala-Paredes—were also arrested as passengers and charged with Attempted Entry After Deportation.
On February 15, Aracely Guadalupe Herrera Gutierrez was arrested at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. A complaint states that “Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 153 packages containing 154 pounds of methamphetamine and seven pounds of fentanyl concealed in the rear bumper of the defendant’s vehicle as she tried to cross into the U.S.”
On February 18, John Nixon was arrested at Otay Mesa Port of Entry for Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. The complaint alleges that Nixon “and a passenger applied for admission to the U.S. in the vehicle lanes… Customs and Border Protection officers found the passenger’s identification to be fraudulent.” The passenger was identified as Jose Rosales-Murillo—a Mexican citizen previously removed from the U.S.—who was arrested for Attempted Entry After Deportation. According to officials: “Nixon claimed he accepted the smuggling job in order to pay off his girlfriend’s $5,000 drug debt.”
These immigration cases were referred or supported by several federal law enforcement agencies including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with state and local law enforcement partners.
Authorities note that indictments and criminal complaints are allegations only; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
