(The Center Square) – As illegal border crossings drop to record lows under the Trump administration, U.S. attorneys in California are prosecuting border-related crimes, including those committed by cartel and gang members and previously deported violent convicted felons.
In the Southern District of California, 97 border-related arrests were made in one week, The Center Square reported. That’s after roughly the same number of cases were filed in the previous week. Charges include “transportation of illegal aliens, bringing in aliens for financial gain, receipt of bribes by public official, reentering the U.S. after deportation, deported alien found in the United States, and importation of controlled substances.”
In the Northern District of California, recent sentences highlight Honduran crime in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco.
In one case, a Honduran national was sentenced to 50 months in prison for distributing fentanyl and sending the proceeds through money services to Honduras, committing international money laundering. In another case, a Honduran national was sentenced to 48 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin.
In another case, two Honduran drug dealers were extradited to San Francisco and sentenced to multiple years in prison for drug trafficking offenses. They were initially arrested and charged during the first Trump administration but later fled to Honduras. Both were extradited last year and both pleaded guilty to heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine distribution and possession charges.
In the Eastern District of California, recent cases highlight Mexican crime.
In one case, a Mexican national from Sinaloa, Mexico, where the Sinaloa Cartel is based, pleaded guilty to trafficking large amounts of fentanyl. He was arrested in Fresno County, where sheriff’s deputies recovered 48 pounds, or 200,000, blue counterfeit M-30 pills in his possession. With two milligrams considered a lethal dose, and the DEA warning that 60% of pills it tests are lethal, he possessed enough to potentially kill 120,000 people. He told authorities he picked up the pills in Arizona and was transporting them to Washington state for distribution, according to the charges.
M30s, or “Mexican Oxy,” are blue pills primarily mass produced in Mexico by the Sinaloa Cartel. They’re designed to look like OxyContin, a prescription painkiller, but are often laced with fentanyl, the DEA has warned. The pills are referred to as “M30s” because “30” and “M” are stamped on each side of the pill, The Center Square has reported.
In another major bust, four members of the Brown Brotherhood gang, a subset of the Sureño gang, which pays tribute to the Mexican Mafia, were indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges. “The primary criminal activities of this gang have included murder, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, burglary, and stolen vehicles,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said. If convicted, they all face life in prison and millions of dollars in fines.
In the Central District of California, 24 illegal foreign nationals who were previously deported and illegally reentered the U.S. were criminally charged. Under federal law, which the Trump administration is enforcing, previously deported foreign nationals face two years in federal prison for illegal reentry. Those with felony convictions face up to 10 years in prison; those with aggravated felony convictions, up to 20.
Two notable cases include Mexican nationals previously deported multiple times. One was previously convicted of “transporting and possessing for sale methamphetamine, cocaine, and cocaine base;” the other was recently indicted for illegal reentry and for allegedly stealing hundreds of Nike Jordan shoes from a freight train.
Federal prosecutors also successfully prosecuted four Pomona gang members and Mexican Mafia associates who were recently found guilty of racketeering and first degree murder of a Metropolitan Detention Center inmate in downtown Los Angeles. Two others were found guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin at MDC and in the Pomona area and for being felons in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The case dates back to the first Trump administration; all defendants were in federal custody since 2018.
In another case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and others, filed criminal charges against 20 previously deported illegal foreign nationals, including many with felony convictions who served time in prison.
Among them was a Mexican national previously deported four times with previous felony convictions in California and Arizona; a Mexican national previously deported and previously convicted in Orange County for discharging a firearm at an inhabited residence and vandalism; and a Mexican national previously deported and twice convicted in Ventura County on weapons charges.
