During the week of February 28 to March 6, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona filed immigration-related criminal charges against 177 individuals. Of these, 124 cases involved illegal re-entry into the United States, while 35 cases involved illegal entry. Additionally, there were 17 cases filed against 18 people accused of smuggling undocumented immigrants within and into Arizona.
Federal law enforcement agencies that referred or supported these cases include U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), ICE-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), 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).
One recent case highlighted by officials is United States v. Iven Jair Jonathan Monjaraz-Perez, Gabriel Garcia-Lopez, and Alvaro Ojeda-Gomez. According to court documents, all three were charged on March 4 with conspiracy to transport an illegal alien. In 2025, Homeland Security Investigations began investigating a human smuggling organization based in Phoenix. On March 2, HSI agents executed a federal search warrant at an apartment in Phoenix where they found 19 undocumented immigrants and arrested two alleged load drivers—Garcia-Lopez and Ojeda-Gomez—who reportedly served as caretakers at the location. Both men are citizens of Mexico unlawfully present in the country.
Agents then executed a search warrant at a second apartment linked to the same smuggling operation. There they observed two individuals leaving; one was Monjarez-Perez who allegedly received payment to transport undocumented immigrants and meet them at what authorities called a drop house.
Officials noted that “a criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct,” adding: “All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
For more information about these actions or other activities from the District of Arizona’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/.
