District of Arizona Charges 173 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this Week

PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from December 6, 2025, through December 12, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 173 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 93 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 73 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 7 cases against individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.

These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Recent matters of interest include:

United States v. Mario Alberto Herrera Jr:  On December 11, 2025, Mario Alberto Herrera Jr. was charged by complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien. An AZ DPS trooper observed Herrera driving on I-10 Westbound. The trooper conducted a vehicle registration check, which confirmed that the car’s registration was suspended, and the trooper initiated a traffic stop. The trooper observed Herrera in the driver’s seat and two passengers in the backseat of the car.  Agents determined Herrera was paid to transport his two passengers to Phoenix, and that he was on probation for a prior, separate conviction for Transportation of an Illegal Alien in the United States District Court, District of Arizona. Immigration checks confirmed that the two passengers in the car are citizens of Guatemala, unlawfully present in the United States. Case number: 25-3484MJ

United States v. Miguel Hernandez-Cortez: On December 8, 2025, Miguel Hernandez-Cortez was charged by complaint with Re-entry of Removed Alien. Hernandez-Cortez was previously removed from the United States in March 2015 after being convicted of Aggravated Sexual Assault, a felony, in the 287th Judicial District Court, Bailey County, Texas. In that case, Hernandez-Cortez was sentenced to five months of imprisonment.  Case number 25-3466MJ

A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-176_December 12 Immigration Enforcement

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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