Western District of Texas Logs 215 New Federal Immigration Cases in First Week of May

Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 215 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases between May 1 and May 7, the U.S. Department of Justice reported on May 8.

The cases cover the full spectrum of federal immigration offenses prosecuted in the district, which includes the entire 800-mile Texas-Mexico border from El Paso to Del Rio, Eagle Pass and the Lower Rio Grande Valley. One notable case involved a stash house bust in El Paso. The district has long recorded the highest immigration caseload of any federal judicial district in the United States.

The new filings maintain the elevated pace set in prior weeks. Prior to this seven-day period the district had been averaging roughly 30 new immigration cases per day in 2026. The May 1-7 total places the weekly count at the upper end of recent enforcement activity and keeps the district on track to exceed 10,000 such cases for the calendar year if the rate holds.

The cases now move into federal district court in divisions that include El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Waco and the four southwest border divisions. Each requires prosecutors to prepare charging documents, detention hearings or initial appearances, and defense counsel appointments under the Criminal Justice Act.

Court clerks must calendar arraignments, plea deadlines and trial settings within the Speedy Trial Act’s 70-day window from arrest or indictment. The volume also triggers downstream demands on U.S. Marshals Service detention capacity, Federal Bureau of Prisons transportation assets, and probation officers who prepare presentence reports.

This weekly total represents the latest data point in a sustained surge that began after the change in presidential administration. The Department of Justice has prioritized immigration enforcement in border districts, directing additional assistant U.S. attorneys and support staff to the Western District.

Congress has separately appropriated funds for additional immigration judges and detention beds, yet case-processing backlogs remain above 5,000 pending matters in the district’s border divisions alone.

Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice