US Charges 265 People in Arizona Immigration Crackdown

By Mintesinot Nigussie  |  September 5, 2026

US prosecutors charged 265 people with immigration-related crimes in Arizona during a weeklong enforcement operation, as the federal government intensifies efforts to prosecute illegal entry, reentry and migrant smuggling.

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said it filed 128 cases involving people accused of illegally re-entering the United States and 124 cases involving illegal entry between August 29 and September 4, 2026.

Prosecutors also brought 12 cases against 13 people accused of smuggling migrants into or within Arizona.

The cases were supported by federal agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the US Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The prosecutions include a case against Andrew Lee Esquivel, who was charged with transporting an undocumented migrant after authorities stopped a vehicle on Interstate 10 in Pinal County. Prosecutors said the passenger, who fled from the vehicle and was later found several miles away, was a Mexican citizen unlawfully present in the US.

In another case, Julian Beltran-Montoya was charged with illegally re-entering the US after previously being removed in 2020. He had earlier been convicted in Wyoming of conspiring to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

The latest figures illustrate the scale of criminal enforcement accompanying US efforts to deter unlawful immigration, with prosecutors pursuing not only migrants accused of illegal entry or reentry but also people alleged to be facilitating their movement across the country.

Source: FSX Business News