Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from May 31, 2025, through June 6, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 199 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 74 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 104 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 18 cases against 20 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona. Protecting law enforcement officers is a key part of border vigilance, and federal prosecutors also charged one individual for assaulting a Border Patrol Agent.
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. Norberto Rueda-Mancinas: On May 31, 2025, a Border Patrol agent encountered Norberto Rueda-Mancinas walking about three miles southeast of San Miguel, Arizona. When Rueda saw the agent, he tried to run. After a short chase, the agent caught up to Rueda, and Rueda threw his backpack at the agent, hitting him in the head and causing the agent’s night vision goggles to cut his face. The backpack was loaded with food and water and weighed approximately 10 pounds. Rueda was arrested and determined to be a citizen of Mexico, illegally present in the United States. He had been previously removed from the United States on April 11, 2025. Rueda was charged with Assaulting a Federal Officer and Illegal Reentry. [Case Number: MJ-25-00620]
United States v. Fabian Ramirez-Childs and United States v. Pena-Losada: On May 31, 2025, Border Patrol agents received an alert for a vehicle that was reportedly loaded with suspected illegal aliens. Agents located the vehicle and initiated a stop. As the vehicle yielded, the passenger door opened and two subjects exited and ran into the desert. The driver then sped away, leading agents on a chase for approximately two miles before yielding. The driver was identified as Fabian Ramirez-Childs, a U.S. citizen. The passenger who had remained in the vehicle was determined to be a citizen of Bangladesh, illegally present in the United States. Agents tracked and located the two subjects that had run from the vehicle, and both were determined to be Mexican citizens who were illegally present in the United States. The driver, Ramirez-Childs, was charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit. [Case Number: MJ-25-00623]
United States v. Cesar Ivan Bencomo Varela: In 2021, Cesar Ivan Bencomo Varela submitted an application for a U.S. Passport at the U.S. Post Office in Show Low, Arizona. In his application, Bencomo Varela claimed to be “Joseph David Olivas,” a United States citizen. Bencomo signed the application packet, swearing under oath that the information on the application was true, and that the photograph attached to the passport application was a true likeness of him. An investigation revealed that Bencomo Varela had been using the Olivas identity since 2015 to obtain employment in the United States. On June 3, 2025, Bencomo Varela was indicted on one count of False Statement in Application or Use of Passport and one count of aggravated identity theft. [Case Number: CR-25-08098]
United States v. Blanca Esthela Favela-Coronel: On June 3, 2025, Blanca Esthela Favela-Coronel was charged by criminal complaint with Reentry of a Removed Alien. Blanca Esthela Favela-Coronel had been previously removed from the United States in 2014 after being convicted of two counts of felony Attempted Sale of Dangerous Drugs (Methamphetamine) in the Superior Court of Arizona, Coconino County. Favela-Coronel was sentenced to two years of incarceration on each count, to be served concurrently with one another. [Case Number: 25-08325MJ]
Criminal complaints and indictments are simply methods by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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).
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-090_June 6 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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