Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas say a surge of recent arrests, largely in and around Austin, has dumped 261 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases into the system in a single week. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday that the filings cover the stretch from April 3 to April 9 and include alleged human smugglers and defendants with prior convictions ranging from multiple DWIs and theft to aggravated assault and rape.
What the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported
In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said federal prosecutors filed 261 cases between April 3 and 9. According to the office, the defendants’ prior records include numerous DWIs, several assault convictions, a rape conviction and other offenses such as theft and drug-possession charges.
The release notes that the new filings were referred or supported by ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the DEA, the FBI and other federal and local partners, and that many of the underlying encounters took place in Travis County.
Examples from the filings
The U.S. Attorney’s Office highlighted several examples from the week’s case load. Convicted sex offender Jorge Guerrero-Martinez was arrested near Val Verde after a recent deportation, according to prosecutors. Enrique Eleuterio Lopez-Rocha was charged with illegal reentry and is reported to have a 2020 cocaine-trafficking conviction along with three DWIs.
Prosecutors also pointed to a U.S. citizen case: Samuel Castro was arrested in El Paso and charged with alien smuggling on April 6, the office said…