There is a sentence we hear often in consultations: “I just gave him a ride.” In West Texas, that sentence shows up regularly in federal case files — and sometimes the defendant is a U.S. citizen.
En el bufete de abogados Campos, seguimos de cerca la evolución de la política de inmigración de EE. UU. para proteger los derechos y el futuro de nuestros clientes. A continuación te explicamos lo que se sabe, lo que aún no se sabe y qué puedes hacer.
What did West Texas prosecutors report?
El 11 de septiembre de 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, led by Justin R. Simmons, announced 500 new cases of immigration and related crimes filed between August 28 and September 10, 2026.
Of that total, 449 cases came from the Del Rio and El Paso offices. Charges include migrant smuggling, illegal reentry, and cases against defendants with prior convictions or multiple previous removals; the release describes one person charged after nine prior deportations.
ICE, the Border Patrol, the DEA, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the ATF, and state and local agencies took part, under a federal initiative called Operation Take Back America.
One precision the daily-report headline rounds off: the period is not “the first two weeks of September” but a fourteen-day stretch beginning August 28. And, as always, una acusación no equivale a una condena: every defendant is presumed innocent.
Can a U.S. citizen be charged with transporting?
Yes — and this announcement illustrates it: among the cases described are two U.S. citizens charged with transporting undocumented people for $2,000.
The governing statute is 8 U.S.C. § 1324, which punishes transporting, moving, concealing or harboring a person knowing, or in reckless disregard of the fact, that they are in the country without authorization. Penalties reach 5 años, and up to 10 where there was financial gain; they climb far higher if anyone is injured.
Two points that matter:
- Citizenship is not a defense. The offense punishes the conduct, not the status of whoever commits it.
- “I didn’t know” is not always enough. The reckless-disregard standard allows charges against someone who ignored obvious signs, even if nobody said it outright.
This does no make driving a neighbor to the grocery store a crime. The statute requires knowledge or reckless disregard, and in practice the cases that get filed tend to have very concrete elements.
What does a prosecutor look at?
There is no formula, but files that end in charges usually share several of these:
- Payment or a promise of payment: the heaviest factor, and the one that raises the penalty.
- Proximity to the border and the route: picking people up at a crossing point or on a road that skirts checkpoints.
- Concealment: people in a trunk, plates that do not match the vehicle, fleeing from authorities.
- Number of passengers and conditions: large groups or circumstances that endanger life.
- Prior coordination: messages, calls or instructions showing an arrangement.
None of this is decided by reading an article: every case turns on very specific facts and requires an attorney reviewing the actual evidence.
What should you do if you are stopped on the road?
- Stay calm and keep your hands visible: do not argue, do not run, do not speed away. Fleeing makes any case worse.
- Hand over license, registration and insurance if asked: those are the documents you do have to provide.
- You have the right to stay silent about your status and your passengers’: you can calmly say you prefer not to answer questions without a lawyer.
- Do not consent to a vehicle search: you can say “I do not consent to a search.” Whether they search anyway is something your attorney will litigate later.
- Do not lie or present false documents: lying to a federal officer is a separate crime, and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship creates permanent inadmissibility.
- Write everything down as soon as you can: time, place, agency, patrol vehicle number and officers’ names.
Protege tu situación migratoria con el bufete de abogados Campos
Five hundred cases in fourteen days means criminal prosecution on the Texas border is no longer the exception but the ordinary path. It also means everyday decisions — who rides in your car, what you answer at a stop — carry real legal consequences.
At Campos Law Firm we analyze the actual evidence in your case, coordinate criminal defense with immigration strategy, and tell you honestly what options exist. We do not make unrealistic promises. We provide serious legal representation backed by preparation and integrity.
No dejes tu situación migratoria al azar. Llámanos hoy mismo al +1 (844) 922-6767 para concertar una consulta gratuita y confidencial en inglés o en español. Bufete de Abogados Campos: soluciones jurídicas en todas las áreas del derecho.
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