PHOENIX – Federal prosecutors in Arizona filed charges against 172 people during a weeklong immigration enforcement push from Aug. 2 to Aug. 8, officials announced Friday.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, 77 of the cases involved defendants accused of re-entering the U.S. after deportation, while 73 others faced charges for entering the country illegally. Another 22 people were charged in smuggling cases.
The arrests were the result of joint efforts by federal agencies including U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI.
Notable cases included:
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Josue Sanchez, 18, accused of transporting two undocumented migrants after fleeing from a Pinal County deputy. Sanchez was reportedly already on federal probation for a similar offense.
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Luis Alberto Romero Garcia, allegedly caught driving a minivan in Phoenix packed with 11 undocumented migrants, including unaccompanied minors lying on the floor without restraints.
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Gilberto Trevizo-Garcia, charged with re-entering the U.S. after a 2023 deportation. He had previously served a federal prison sentence in Ohio for major drug trafficking offenses.
Officials said the prosecutions are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Justice Department initiative aimed at dismantling cartels, combating transnational crime, and prosecuting violent offenders linked to illegal immigration.