PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from April 4 through April 10, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 171 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 99 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 62 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 10 cases against 10 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), 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).
Recent matters of interest include:
United States v. Cesar Arturo Herrera-Moreno, Ernesto A. Vargaz-Ramirez . Herrera-Moreno and Vargaz-Ramirez were charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of Illegal Aliens, on April 4, 2026. On April 2, a Pinal County Sheriff’s sergeant observed a vehicle driving near mile marker 214 on I-10 that had multiple items hanging from the rearview mirror. The sergeant ran a search on the vehicle’s license plate, which indicated the vehicle did not have insurance. The sergeant initiated a vehicle stop, approached the car and observed a driver, Herrera-Moreno; a front seat passenger, Vargaz-Ramirez; and three males in the backseat of the car. When Border Patrol agents arrived on the scene, they noticed camouflage clothing and carpet shoes on the backseat floorboard. Immigration checks confirmed that the passengers were citizens of Mexico and Guatemala, all unlawfully present in the United States. [Case Number: 26-MJ-5144]
United States v. Ernesto Carrillo-Gonzales. Carrillo-Gonzales was charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit on April 8, 2026. On April 7, Border Patrol agents conducting surveillance in Nogales, Arizona, observed a subject concealed in the brush less than a mile north of the border. Agents watched the subject run from the brush and get into a vehicle. They followed the vehicle to a Motel 6 and observed both the subject and the driver, later identified as Carrillo-Gonzales, enter a motel room. An hour later, Carrillo-Gonzales drove to an area just north of the border and then returned to the motel room with a second individual. After another hour, Carrillo-Gonzales left and returned to the same motel room with two additional subjects. Twenty minutes later, Carrillo-Gonzales left again and was observed picking up another individual from the brush. He drove briefly before coming to a stop, and the individual got out of the vehicle. Agents apprehended both Carrillo-Gonzales and his passenger and learned that the passenger was a citizen of Mexico, illegally present in the United States. Finally, agents conducted an immigration inspection at the motel room and determined that the individuals inside were citizens of Mexico and Guatemala, all illegally present in the United States. [Case Number: 26-MJ-07395]
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).
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
RELEASE NUMBER: 2026-060_April 10, 2026 Immigration Enforcement
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Arizona — U.S. Department of Justice press release.