Several Mexican nationals have found themselves facing immigration violation charges in the Eastern District of Texas, as U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced earlier. Among them is 50-year-old Leonardo Chalchi, who on October 16 was taken into custody in Smith County for evading arrest. Subsequent inquiries revealed Chalchi, a citizen of Mexico, allegedly remained in the U.S. unlawfully after deportations in 2021 and 2022. This case, as is reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, is part of a collaborative effort between the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In similar circumstances, Francisco Velazquez-Castro, aged 46, was pulled over on November 14 for a traffic violation in Smith County. It was then ascertained that Velazquez-Castro is also a Mexican citizen purportedly in the U.S. illegally following previous deportation in 2017 and again in 2022. The authorities, including Smith County Sheriff’s Office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are handling the case, per the same source.
Another case involves Pablo Hernandez Rodriguez, who at the age of 41, was apprehended in Smith County on November 30, and like his counterparts, was found to be in the U.S. after allegedly being deported to Mexico in 2020. Meanwhile, 57-year-old Aurelio Saucedo-Alba faced an arrest on December 4 due to a federal warrant, with immigration records indicating his illegal presence in the U.S. post-deportation to Mexico in 2019. His is another case under the purview of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lastly, the arrests included 39-year-old Francisco Ubaldo Acosta-Sanchez, who after a routine traffic stop on October 16 in Smith County, was discovered to be in possession of alleged counterfeit legal documents. Law enforcement officers found suspect Permanent Resident Cards and Social Security Cards in Acosta's vehicle, all carrying various versions of his name. His investigation falls under the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement umbrella, according to the reported accounts.
"These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble and 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," as stated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble on the same press release. It is crucial to underline, as the Justice Department emphasizes, that an indictment is not a proof of guilt and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
