Southern California saw 97 border-related arrests in a week, including two CBP agents

In one week, criminal charges were brought in 97 border crime cases, including against two U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents by federal prosecutors in southern California.

Charges include “transportation of illegal aliens, bringing in aliens for financial gain, receipt of bribes by public official, reentering the U.S. after deportation, deported alien found in the United States, and importation of controlled substances.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California prosecutes border-related crimes occurring in two CBP sectors, El Centro and San Diego, which were hard hit under the Biden administration. A record number of illegal border crossers were apprehended in the sectors throughout the administration, including more than 525,000 in fiscal 2024, excluding those who evaded capture, The Center Square exclusively reported.

The Southern District and CBP sectors include San Diego and Imperial counties, which share a 140-mile border with Mexico. The San Diego Sector has historically reported the greatest volume of illegal border crosser apprehensions, including human smugglers and traffickers, as well as the largest number of gotaways in California, those who evade capture, The Center Square has exclusively reported.

The San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere, processes 70,000 northbound vehicles and 20,000 northbound pedestrian crossings daily, according to federal data. The POE connects San Diego and Tijuana, the second largest city in Mexico. Tijuana is a major hub for transnational criminal activity primarily orchestrated by the Sinaloa Cartel, which for decades has controlled the US-Mexico border from California to El Paso, Texas, The Center Square has reported.

Among the 97 arrested in one week were two San Ysidro POE CBP agents: Farlis Almonte and Ricardo Rodriguez. They were charged with “Conspiracy to Bring in Aliens for Financial Gain, Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain and Receipt of Bribes by Public Official,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to court records, they ushered in dozens of vehicles transporting illegal border crossers into the U.S. by allowing them to pass through their inspection lanes from August 2024 through January 2025 in exchange for cash. The conspiracy involved them allegedly informing smugglers of their schedule and what lanes they were assigned to inspect in order to help them illegally enter the country, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors made their case gathering evidence from illegal border crossers who were later arrested, including those who told law enforcement officers that they were working with CBP officers, according to the complaint. Investigators also found a screenshot of a text message thread in one of the alleged smuggler's cell phones, including a contact, “Farli USA," allegedly referring to Almonte and his shift times, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors also allege that Rodriguez’s reporting of crossings were "highly suspect” because they included a pattern of primarily only processing a driver using someone else's identification, according to the complaint.

The CBP agents are among the latest law enforcement officers working at the US-Mexico border who’ve been arrested for a range of crimes, The Center Square reported.

Of the 97 arrested, many included Mexican nationals charged with importing a controlled substance, illegal reentry after previously being deported, and transporting illegal border crossers, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The office is prioritizing prosecuting border-related crimes including drug, firearms and human trafficking, illegal foreign nationals with criminal records, active warrants for their arrest, and those who endanger and threaten U.S. communities and law enforcement officers.

Despite state and city sanctuary policies and opposition to working with federal immigration enforcement efforts, federal agents are continuing to arrest violent illegal foreign national criminals in California, The Center Square reported.