During the week of February 21 to February 27, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona charged 156 individuals with crimes related to immigration. The majority of these cases involved illegal re-entry into the United States, with 106 cases filed. Another 40 individuals were charged with illegal entry, and nine cases were brought against ten people accused of smuggling undocumented immigrants within or into Arizona.
The charges stemmed from referrals and support provided by several federal law enforcement agencies, including 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), FBI, U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Among recent notable cases was United States v. Jose Leonel Medina-Angulo. Medina-Angulo was charged on February 23, 2026, with transporting undocumented immigrants after a Border Patrol agent found him and five others walking in remote terrain south of Exit 87 on I-8. The group attempted to hide but was apprehended by authorities. They wore camouflage clothing and carpet booties over their shoes in an apparent attempt to avoid detection. All six individuals were determined not to be U.S. citizens or legally present in the country.
Another case highlighted was United States v. Jario Isaias Ventura-Jocol, who was charged on February 25, 2026, for transporting undocumented immigrants for profit. According to investigators from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Tohono O’odham Police Department (TOPD), Ventura-Jocol drove a vehicle suspected in human smuggling activities at high speeds while attempting to evade law enforcement before being stopped and arrested along with three passengers identified as citizens of Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico without legal status in the United States.
“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.”
For more information about the work of the District of Arizona’s U.S. Attorney’s Office: http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Updates can also be followed via Twitter @USAO_AZ.
