HOUSTON, Texas, saw two repeat border crossers sent to federal prison on Tuesday, as judges handed down stiff sentences that federal prosecutors say are part of a broader immigration enforcement push in the region. Raymundo Pecina‑Lopez, 43, received a 39‑month prison term, while Samuel Moreno‑Soto, 38, was sentenced to 18 months after both admitted they had reentered the United States without authorization. Each man has prior felony convictions, and both will stay in federal custody until they are transferred to a Bureau of Prisons facility.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Pecina‑Lopez admitted guilt and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge. Moreno‑Soto pleaded guilty on Dec. 9, 2025, and received his 18‑month sentence from U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison. Prosecutors said both men will face removal proceedings once they finish their prison time and confirmed that Assistant U.S. Attorneys handled the cases.
The sentencings come amid a broader wave of interior immigration enforcement in Houston, part of what local reporting has described as a weeklong border crackdown that pushed hundreds of immigration‑related cases onto the federal docket. Coverage of that surge has noted a clear priority: repeat offenders and people with violent or narcotics histories are drawing the most attention from prosecutors when it comes to illegal‑reentry charges.
Advocates argue that this kind of stepped‑up interior enforcement can make some immigrants wary of reporting crimes or cooperating with local police. Prosecutors counter that targeting repeat criminal offenders protects the public by removing people they describe as persistent lawbreakers.
The same federal release lays out a lengthy rap sheet for both defendants. Each man previously picked up convictions for assault of a family member and for narcotics offenses. Pecina‑Lopez also has convictions for driving while intoxicated and illegally carrying a weapon. Moreno‑Soto, for his part, has prior convictions for harboring aliens and for an earlier illegal reentry.
Removal records stretch back more than a decade. Pecina‑Lopez was first ordered removed in September 2009 and is accused of having returned illegally once since then. Moreno‑Soto was removed in June 2014 and returned twice, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. Both men remain in custody while the Federal Bureau of Prisons decides where they will serve their sentences. Prosecutors said Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division is responsible for identifying, arresting, and removing non‑citizens who are subject to removal. ERO runs field offices across the country and regularly works with U.S. Attorney’s Offices on illegal‑reentry prosecutions, a partnership that was noted in the Southern District’s announcement in this case.
Legal context
Federal law makes it a crime to return to the United States after a formal removal order, with penalties that increase based on a person’s prior criminal record. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, a standard unlawful‑reentry conviction can carry up to two years in prison. Those maximum penalties can jump to 10 or even 20 years if the earlier removal followed felony or aggravated‑felony convictions.
Prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas have described their illegal‑reentry docket as part of a broader national enforcement campaign often referred to as “Operation Take Back America,” a framing that local reporting has continued to track as more of these cases move through Houston’s federal courts.
What happens next
For now, Pecina‑Lopez and Moreno‑Soto will remain behind bars until the Bureau of Prisons assigns them to specific facilities, where they will serve out their 39‑month and 18‑month sentences. After that, both are expected to face removal proceedings once again.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Hostetter prosecuted the cases with support from other federal prosecutors.
