Federal prosecutors in Houston say they charged 363 people in the third week of February in a wide-ranging border-enforcement push that swept across the Southern District of Texas. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas is describing the latest batch of cases as part of an ongoing campaign aimed at illegal entry, reentry and smuggling along the border.
SDTX charges another 363 individuals in third week of February for crimes related to continued border-security enforcement efforts #OperationTakeBackAmerica #BorderSecurity
— U.S. Attorney SDTX (@usao_sdtx) Feb 20, 2026
The office posted the tally on its social account, flagging the latest wave under its border-security banner. The announcement is available through U.S. Attorney SDTX on X. SDTX typically follows these topline posts with formal complaints and court filings that spell out who was charged, where they were arrested and how the cases fit into the broader strategy.
Case mix and recent patterns
Recent weekly rundowns from SDTX have leaned heavily on illegal-entry and felony-reentry charges, with smaller but steady clusters of human-smuggling and firearms cases in the mix. KRIS 6 News documented a similar wave earlier in February that followed the same pattern. Prosecutors say many of the defendants picked up in these efforts already have felony records on their sheets.
Operation Take Back America and the wider surge
The latest filings fall under Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative that has shifted extra enforcement muscle toward border prosecutions in the district. The U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas has pointed to 13,964 border-related cases filed in 2025 as a benchmark for the current surge. Observers note the operation tracks with internal DOJ guidance that tells prosecutors to elevate immigration and cartel-focused cases, a trend Roll Call has outlined in its coverage of those internal shifts.
Court capacity and local impact
Defense lawyers and court staff say this steady stream of immigration prosecutions is weighing on federal dockets and public defender workloads in Houston and across the rest of SDTX. The volume means calendars fill fast, hearings crowd together and routine cases can start to feel like they are moving on a conveyor belt. Local outlets have been tracking the trend. Click2Houston reported a comparable spike in filings during the first week of January.
Legal consequences
The complaints SDTX leans on most often allege illegal entry, illegal reentry and human smuggling. All carry significant exposure under federal law. According to SDTX press materials and prior complaints, illegal-reentry convictions can bring sentences of up to 20 years in federal prison, while human-smuggling conspiracies can lead to even longer terms depending on the specific conduct and alleged harm.
The 363 new cases are expected to begin surfacing on federal dockets as prosecutors convert the social-media tally into complaints and indictments. Defense attorneys will then start setting arraignments and first court appearances. The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to cast the high-volume strategy as central to public safety and border control. Critics counter that the pace risks overwhelming court resources and undercutting the ability to mount robust defenses. More detailed charging documents and hearing dates are likely to roll out in the coming days as the latest round of complaints is unsealed.
