Hundreds of immigration charges filed including against women assaulting officers

Hundreds of immigration charges were filed in the Southern District of Texas, including against a woman assaulting and threatening federal agents.

In one week, 332 people were charged; 205 people were charged with illegal entry; 109 with felony illegal reentry after previously being deported. Most arrested have prior felony convictions and charges; 10 cases involve human smuggling.

Among those arrested was Mexican national Maria Isabel Cruz-Salas, living in the border town of San Benito in the Rio Grande Valley. While authorities conducted a worksite enforcement operation at Taqueria El Mante, an ICE Homeland Security Investigations agent attempted to detain her and she kicked him in the face, according to the charges. If convicted, she faces up to eight years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

In another case, a San Antonio woman, Michelle Lee Varela, was taken into custody after allegedly threatening an ICE-HSI agent while performing his duties. According to the charges, while authorities were conducting an immigration action and requested information from Varela about her husband’s status in the U.S., she “allegedly used profanity and said if her husband was taken into custody, she would shoot them.”

Law enforcement officials “advised her to consider her remarks as she had just threatened a federal agent, but she continued in an elevated voice and a threatening tone,” according to the complaint.

The charges state that on June 4, she “influenced, impeded or retaliated against a federal officer by threat and used interstate communications to transmit a threat to injure another,” specifically threatening ICE-HIS agents on a cell phone.

If convicted, she faces up to 10 and five years, respectively, in federal prison for the threat and interstate communications charges and up to a $250,000 fine.

“The Southern District of Texas takes allegations of threatened violence against law enforcement very seriously,” U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei said. “Immigration authorities must be able to carry out their lawful duties free from violence or threats, and those that attempt to obstruct or harm such agents will be held accountable.”

Also among those charged were Mexican nationals Paulina Lopez-Bello and Juan Eliud Calva-Lopez, who allegedly used fraudulent lawful permanent resident cards and Social Security documents to secure employment in the U.S. They allegedly paid $300 for the fake identification, investigators found. If convicted on fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents charges, they face up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Another Mexican national illegally living in the border town of Mission, Texas, Roberto Carlos Moncada-Pena, faces human smuggling charges. He was first encountered during a traffic stop when law enforcement officials discovered three illegal foreign nationals in his vehicle. After searching his apartment, another 10 illegal foreign nationals were found. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

In other cases, four Mexican nationals were sentenced for illegal reentry and other crimes. One of them, Josue Rodriguez-Rodriguez, was illegally living in Houston after having been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and removed from the country 10 times. He faces an additional 69 months in prison and removal for the 11th time after his sentence is complete. His criminal convictions include aggravated assault-family violence and possession with intent to deliver or manufacture a controlled substance. He was first removed from the country 25 years ago.

The other Mexican nationals sentenced for felony reentry were previously removed and have felony convictions including evading arrest with a motor vehicle, methamphetamine distribution, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and aggravated assault family violence. Their sentences ranged between 21 and 57 months in prison.

In another case, four men in Houston were found guilty of a large-scale mail theft and credit card fraud scheme. One of them was a 64-year-old Nigerian man illegally living in Houston. He and others involved contacted financial institutions to activate stolen credit cards sent through the mail and used them to purchase goods, services, gift cards, cash and merchandise at retail stores. They fraudulently activated at least 120 stolen credit cards, causing an estimated $1 million in losses to Chase Bank, according to the charges. The Nigerian faces removal after completing his two-year prison sentence.

Multiple authorities were involved in the cases, including ICE-HSI, ICE-ERO, Border Patrol, the DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, ATF, as well as state and local law enforcement partners.