A U.S. citizen faces federal charges after attempting to smuggle a Mexican national with false documents through the Otay Mesa port of entry, authorities announced this week.
John Nixon was taken into custody when he tried to enter the United States from Mexico through a vehicle lane at the border crossing. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting routine inspections discovered that his passenger’s identification was fraudulent, according to court documents.
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The passenger was later identified as José Rosales Murillo, a Mexican national previously deported from the United States in 2008. Rosales now faces charges for illegal reentry after deportation. During questioning, Nixon allegedly told investigators he agreed to the smuggling operation to pay off his girlfriend’s $5,000 drug debt.
The arrest was among 84 border-related cases reported this week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, which handles the fourth-highest caseload among federal districts nationwide, driven largely by border crime volume. Beyond smuggling cases, the district actively prosecutes matters involving terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, white-collar fraud, violent crimes, cyber offenses, human trafficking, and national security threats.
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In other border enforcement actions this week, Mexican nationals Carlos Cortés De La Cruz and Carlos Cortés García, a father-son duo allegedly commanding a smuggling vessel, were arrested for transporting approximately a dozen undocumented passengers.
Furthermore, Aracely Guadalupe Herrera Gutiérrez, a Mexican citizen, was taken into custody February 15 after CBP officers discovered 153 packages containing 70 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3 kilograms of fentanyl hidden in her vehicle’s rear bumper at the San Ysidro port of entry.
Authorities emphasized that all charges are allegations, and defendants remain presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
