(The Center Square) – As illegal border crossings plummet, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, working with federal partners, continue to arrest illegal foreign nationals in the interior of the U.S. and U.S. attorneys are ramping up prosecutions.
In one recent enforcement action, ICE officers arrested 48 illegal foreign nationals in New Mexico “who either remained in the country despite being ordered removed by an immigration judge or were charged or convicted of serious crimes while they were illegally present in the United States,” ICE said. Nearly half, 21, already had final orders for removal by a federal judge.
Also in one week, the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico filed 99 immigration and border crime cases.
ICE arrests occurred in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Roswell during a joint operation involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Marshal Service.
Of those arrested, 20 were previously arrested or convicted of serious criminal offenses, including “homicide, criminal sexual penetration, sexual assault, battery on a household member, aggravated battery, drug trafficking, burglary-forced entry, driving under the influence, and shoplifting.”
Others were arrested for immigration violations including illegal entry and illegal re-entry after having been previously deported.
ICE enforcement operations in New Mexico, like Border Patrol operations, fall under the CBP El Paso Sector, which includes two West Texas counties and all of New Mexico. The sector saw record numbers of illegal border crossers under the Biden administration, after Texas border security efforts increased, The Center Square reported.
In another case, Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested four Venezuelan men all illegally in the U.S. on firearms charges, including one with alleged ties to the Foreign Terrorist Organization, Tren de Aragua.
The alleged TdA affiliate, Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, was made known to HSI through an anonymous tip, authorities said. He was found illegally living in Las Cruces with other illegal foreign nationals in possession of firearms, according to the complaint.
He illegally entered the U.S. in December 2023, and instead of being processed for deportation under Biden administration policies, was released into the U.S. pending removal proceedings, according to the complaint.
HSI agents also arrested two Venezuelan men illegally living in Albuquerque after they recovered a loaded pistol with an extended magazine containing 19 rounds of ammunition at their residence. They also arrested a Venezuelan man in Espanola after agents found 11 firearms, including pistols, revolvers, shotguns and rifles at his residence. He “admitted to purchasing the firearms privately, knowing it was illegal for him to possess them,” the complaint states. He was previously deported to Mexico and illegally reentered the U.S.
All four Venezuelan men were charged with “being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition.” They remain in custody pending trial. If convicted, they each face up to 15 years in prison.
The ATF, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque Police Department and New Mexico State Police were involved in the investigation.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Holland Kastrin also brought charges against 99 illegal foreign nationals in one week. The district encompasses 33 counties and shares 180 miles of international border with Mexico.
The total includes 56 individuals charged with Illegal Reentry After Deportation, 11 charged with Alien Smuggling and 32 charged with Illegal Entry.
Many charged have prior criminal convictions for aggravated felonies including “solicitation of a child through electronic communication to engage in sexual conduct, leaving the scene of an accident with fatality, and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In one case, criminal charges were brought against a U.S. citizen who claimed a Mexican national was her son who presented a falsified birth certificate to CBP agents claiming he was a U.S. citizen. In a similar case, a Mexican national illegally living in the U.S. was charged with using a U.S. passport card that didn’t belong to him. He admitted to agents that he had assumed the identity of a U.S. citizen since 1983, when he paid $150 for fraudulent identity documents, authorities said.
In another case, a Mexican national was charged with allegedly transporting six illegal border crossers through the desert in southwestern New Mexico. Two suffered dehydration and heat exhaustion, necessitating emergency medical attention and hospitalization. He also told authorities he successfully smuggled 10 illegal border crossers to the same location days before he was arrested. His criminal history includes prior apprehensions as “a drug mule and alien smuggler during his juvenile years.”
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. Attorneys’ Office is prioritizing “enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district,” which it says has “yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.”
