During the week of August 23 to August 29, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona charged 233 individuals with immigration-related offenses. Of these, 107 cases involved charges against individuals accused of illegally re-entering the United States, while another 108 cases involved charges for illegal entry. In addition, federal prosecutors filed 16 cases against 18 people alleged to have smuggled illegal aliens into or within Arizona.
Federal law enforcement agencies referred or supported these cases. The agencies involved included 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), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The announcement highlighted two recent criminal complaints:
United States v. Raymundo Barretero-Fernandez: On August 27, 2025, Raymundo Barretero-Fernandez, a Mexican citizen, was charged by criminal complaint with Illegal Re-entry. In 2019, Barretero-Fernandez was convicted in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma of Conspiracy to Possess Heroin with Intent to Distribute and Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm. He was sentenced to 36 months in prison and subsequently removed from the United States. Barretero-Fernandez then re-entered the United States without legal permission or authority.
United States v. Jose Luis Nunez-Sandoval: On August 29, 2025, Jose Luis Nunez-Sandoval, a Mexican citizen, was charged by criminal complaint with Transportation of an Illegal Alien and Illegal Re-entry. According to court documents, on August 27, 2025, Nunez-Sandoval was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol while traveling on Interstate 40 with two passengers. Agents determined that Nunez-Sandoval and the passengers were unlawfully present in the United States.
According to officials, these prosecutions are part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative using Department of Justice resources to address illegal immigration as well as activities linked to cartels and transnational criminal organizations through programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
“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.”
