Southern District of Texas

Federal courtrooms in border regions are exhibiting standing-room-only situations following the implementation of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions demand for zero tolerance of illegal crossings. The policy is packing dockets with recently arrested illegal immigrants, many of whom are parents separated from their children under new enforcement actions.

Five men in the Rio Grande Valley received prison sentences ranging from 16 to 30 years each for their roles in a human smuggling stash house kidnapping scheme. The men stole the human cargo from a stash house and then demanded the victims call family members to pay a ransom for their release. Two other previously deported illegal aliens also received sentences in the case.

A woman in South Texas faces a minimum of 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sex trafficking a 9-year-old girl.

A federal judge in south Texas handed down an 18-month prison sentence to a Cuban national who posed as a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The Cuban man attempted to scam a confidential informant into giving him $7,000 in exchange for permanent resident status documents.

HOUSTON, Texas – Federal agents with the FBI arrested a Houston man on charges that he attempted to transport explosives for the purpose of injury or destruction of property.

A Mexican national who had been living in Houston, Texas, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a U.S. prison for human trafficking. He was also convicted of causing the death of at least one of the smuggled immigrants.

HOUSTON, Texas — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Harris County, Texas, charging that election officials have failed to provide polling places that are accessible to disabled voters.