735 New Federal Charges Target Immigrant Smugglers, Violent Felons in Western Texas

SAN ANTONIO, TX – United States Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced that federal prosecutors in the district filed 735 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from Dec. 19, 2025 to Jan. 8, 2026. Charges were brought against illegal aliens with past convictions for violent crimes and DWIs, as well as alleged human smugglers and aliens with multiple prior removals.

Among the cases, U.S. citizen Kenya Rodriguez-Marcial was arrested on Christmas Eve and charged with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens. A criminal complaint alleges Rodriguez-Marcial attempted to enter the U.S. via pedestrian lanes at the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry, claiming she was going to pick up items for Christmas dinner. Upon inspection of her purse, the Customs and Border Protection Officer allegedly observed a stack of $100 U.S. Dollar bills and $500 Mexican Peso bills folded in half with a rubber band. According to the complaint, further inspection revealed the currency totaled $1,300 USD and 11,500 MXN. Rodriguez-Marcial allegedly confessed that the money was proceeds from her involvement in alien smuggling, and that she was enroute to care for and feed two illegal alien children in El Paso. On her phone, CBPOs allegedly found a “proof of life” video recording of a female child stating she was in El Paso on Dec. 23, 2025, along with multiple text conversations between Rodriguez-Marcial and another individual, one relating to smuggling a girl on Dec. 23.

In a separate smuggling incident, U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a vehicle stop on Interstate-10 west of Sierra Blanca after allegedly observing several individuals load into the vehicle in the westbound lane of the highway. A criminal complaint alleges that, when a USBP agent approved the vehicle during the stop, the agent observed two front passengers and several other subjects lying in the cargo area of the vehicle. The driver, Alexis Antillon-Rey, allegedly opened his car door and attempted to exit. Antillon-Rey, who is a Mexican national and allegedly a pickup driver for an Alien Smuggling Organization, was determined to be in the U.S. illegally—as were the six other individuals in his vehicle who were bound for El Paso. One of the passengers, Ecuadoran national Manuel Leonardo Caiza-Deleg, allegedly served as the group’s guide and communicated with Antillon-Rey to coordinate the smuggling scheme. Both Antillon-Rey and Caiza-Deleg are charged with alien smuggling.

Mexican national and felon Miguel Angel Martinez-Ruiz was arrested in El Paso and charged with illegal re-entry after being removed to Mexico on Oct. 31 through San Ysidro, California. Martinez-Ruiz was convicted in 2022 for assault with a deadly weapon causing brain injury and paralysis, for which he was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was also convicted three times for driving without a license.

Marcio Steven Izaguirre, who is a Honduran national and convicted child molester, was arrested near Maverick for being in the U.S. illegally. Izaguirre has been deported from the U.S. three times. He was also convicted for contributing to the delinquency of a minor as well as illegal re-entry after an aggravated felony conviction.

Milton Edgardo Hernandez-Flores, also a Honduran national, was charged with illegal re-entry after being arrested by USBP agents near Maverick. Hernandez-Flores has been granted four voluntary returns and has been deported three times, the last one being on Sept. 15, 2025. Prior felony convictions include possession of a narcotic controlled substance, robbery/conspiracy/threats, and assault with a deadly weapon.

Honduran national Juan Fernando Lara-Saavedra was arrested in Buda and charged with illegal re-entry. Lara-Saavedra was previously removed from the U.S. to Honduras in 2014 following a conviction for aggravated battery in Louisiana.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Jose Antonio Calderon, a Salvadoran national, in Kyle. Calderon was previously convicted for aggravated assault against a public servant and resisting arrest. He was removed from the U.S. twice in 2010 and is now charged with illegal re-entry.

Mexican national Alejandro Martinez Jaimes was found in the Travis County Jail on Jan. 1, after being arrested for failing to identify. He was taken into ICE custody and charged with illegal re-entry. In 2022, Martinez Jaimes was convicted for alien smuggling and sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. He was removed from the U.S. in Nov. 2023.

Reynaldo Rofino-Octaviano, a Mexican national with three prior DWI convictions, was found in El Paso approximately a quarter mile west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. He has been previously removed from the U.S. three times, the last one being to Mexico in November. Rofino-Octaviano’s other prior convictions include driving with a suspended license and a felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

These cases are 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.