Even with paychecks on pause, federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas kept moving. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday it filed 1,709 immigration and immigration-related criminal cases during the six-week government shutdown, spanning alleged illegal reentry, alien smuggling, and firearms and drug offenses across the district’s central and western counties.
More Than 1700 New Immigration Cases Filed by Western District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office During Government Shutdown https://x.com/USAO_WDTX/status/1989392702124036247
U.S. Attorney On Charging Through The Shutdown
“Despite not getting paid for the past six weeks, the Western District of Texas maintained its diligent pursuit of bringing to justice those who would violate our immigration laws,” U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said in a statement. The office released the tally in a Friday press release. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas, the 1,709 cases were filed since the start of the six-week shutdown.
Representative Cases Filed
One example the office highlighted: the Nov. 10 arrest of Juan Jesus Carranza Jr. of Laredo. He’s accused of transporting five undocumented migrants and leading state troopers on a high-speed chase before crashing on State Highway 16 in Bexar County. The office’s post on X said Carranza and four of the migrants were taken to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office; a fifth was injured, treated at a hospital, and later transferred to ICE. Prosecutors said Carranza was charged with alien smuggling and faces up to 20 years if convicted. The post links to the full press release and to several recent indictments out of San Antonio, El Paso, and other divisions in the district.
A Wide District And A National Push
The Western District covers 68 counties, roughly 93,000 square miles, and about 7.6 million people, including San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso, per the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas. These filings align with a Department of Justice initiative called Operation Take Back America, and other border districts have reported similar surges — including over 200 charged in the Southern District of Texas — as enforcement ramped up this year. Investigations drew support from ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the DEA, FBI, ATF, and the U.S. Marshals Service, alongside state and local partners.
Legal Notes
The charges range from unlawful entry to aggravated smuggling and weapons counts, with penalties that depend on the statute and aggravating factors. Federal law outlines maximums for alien-smuggling and related offenses — including enhancements for serious bodily injury or commercial gain — in 8 U.S.C. § 1324, according to Cornell Law School. The office also emphasized that indictments and complaints are allegations, and defendants remain presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office listed a media contact and said more arrests and prosecutions are expected as investigations continue. For full details, see the office’s statement and its post on X.
