A 23-year-old Venezuelan national living in Las Cruces, New Mexico, pleaded guilty to illegal firearm possession and conspiracy to destroy evidence after posting photos and videos of himself with weapons on social media. The individual, identified as a suspected member of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, was employed by a prominent local family at the time of his arrest. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division coordinated with the FBI, ATF, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the investigation.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations arrested Jesus Luis Cuevas-Pacheco, 47, a Mexican national with a criminal history including child sexual abuse charges, narcotics trafficking, and domestic violence. On September 27, agents apprehended him in Vado, New Mexico, after he fled and barricaded himself in a residence while they attempted to serve a reentry-after-deportation warrant. Cuevas now faces additional criminal charges that could result in imprisonment and removal from the United States.

A 46-year-old previously convicted felon in Carlsbad, New Mexico, faces federal charges after agents discovered approximately 1,090 grams of methamphetamine and 56 grams of cocaine at his residence during a September 3 search warrant execution. Jason Cunningham is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted.

ICE arrested Leonel Arquimedes Bustamante-Sanchez, 27, a Tren de Aragua gang member and Venezuelan fugitive, on August 20 in Albuquerque following a traffic stop. Bustamante-Sanchez had an active warrant from Colombia for a seven-year sentence related to firearms trafficking and illegal possession. He was previously encountered by Border Patrol in 2023 and is now in ICE custody facing charges for illegal entry and pending additional criminal charges.

An Albuquerque couple — naturalized U.S. citizens Nan Zhang and Sanjay Khurana — have been indicted for conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, money laundering, and unlawful financial transactions. Investigators allege they converted four rental properties into stash houses for human smuggling operations and laundered proceeds through a structured real estate deal over approximately two years. If convicted, both face up to 20 years in prison, loss of legal status, and property forfeiture.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller signed an executive order on July 21, 2025, prohibiting city resources from being used to assist federal immigration enforcement unless legally required. The order requires city departments to report ICE activity at city facilities to the Mayor's office, prevents staff from aiding covert immigration operations, and demands officers identify themselves in public spaces. It also commits the city to identifying services — including housing, healthcare, and education assistance — for families affected by federal immigration actions.

For the week ending July 11, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico charged 57 individuals with Illegal Reentry After Deportation, 7 with Alien Smuggling, and 42 with Illegal Entry. A notable case that week involved Reymondo Maldonado, who was charged with possession with intent to distribute 166 kilograms of cocaine discovered in a hidden compartment in the floor of a tractor-trailer. These cases were prosecuted as part of Operation Take Back America in partnership with the El Paso Sector of U.S. Border Patrol and HSI El Paso.

On June 25, 2025, Border Patrol agents conducting surveillance on Interstate 10 near Deming, New Mexico, stopped a tractor-trailer and discovered 13 undocumented individuals — nationals of Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico, including an unaccompanied juvenile — hidden in compartments of the trailer and cab. The driver, Jarol Wilberto Arroyo-Cerin, 40, a U.S. citizen from Maryland, admitted to repeatedly transporting illegal aliens for financial compensation and instructing them to hide under the flatbed. He is charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

For the week ending March 14, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office charged 38 individuals with Illegal Reentry After Deportation, 5 with Alien Smuggling, and 22 with Illegal Entry — totaling 67 individuals charged. Notable cases included the extradition of transnational criminal organization leader Guillermo Amaro-Rodriguez from Mexico on a 2022 methamphetamine distribution indictment, and the arrest of Alejandro Villalobos-Torres on charges of human smuggling and kidnapping two men in 2022. The report also noted that 40 El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents had been assaulted during Fiscal Year 2025.

Alejandro Villalobos-Torres was arrested on March 11, 2025, at the ICE Otero Processing Center in New Mexico, in connection with a 2022 human smuggling and kidnapping case in which he allegedly worked with co-conspirators to smuggle aliens into the U.S. and detained two men against their will. He is charged with conspiracy to take a hostage and was held pending a detention hearing scheduled for March 17, 2025. The arrest was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico on March 14, 2025.