CBP & Border Patrol agents arrested. (2024-2025)

This update concerns new arrests and the results of arrests made of CBP and Border Patrol employees in 2024 and 2025. Because Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the parent agency to the U.S. Border Patrol and both agencies are working as one under the mass deportations, I have included CBP arrests in this data. 

The data below was taken from CBP’s Reported Employee Arrest webpage. As the page mentions, these arrests do not represent all arrests but only those self-reported by employees. Whether the actual number of CBP and Border Patrol employee arrests are slightly or significantly higher, they are at least not any lower than the numbers reported by CBP. Because the federal government’s fiscal calendar begins in October, I took the opportunity to show this data in calendar years instead of fiscal. I think this will help the reader’s understanding of the scope of criminality in these agencies. The following is just a sample of 2024 arrests and sentences.

Calendar year 2024 had a total of 262 arrests reported by employees of CBP and Border Patrol. September 2024 was particularly bad with 30 arrests in 31 days. According to CBP’s own data, 5.04 CBP employees were arrested every week, or 21.83 employees arrested each month in 2024. Of those 262 arrests, I could only find 9 reported in the media. Of the court cases I was able to locate, I noticed that many courts are now sealing much of the documents for arrests of federal agents even when they are alleged to have committed crimes off-duty. This is unusual. There is no valid legal reason for the government to demand judges seal or put protective orders on off-duty arrests. It is also not uncommon for agents convicted of crimes to be given extremely low sentences and still be employed with the agency in some other manner such as in dispatch.

The following are some of the most interesting cases from 2024.

Border Patrol Agent Carlos Ivan Vargas - San Diego, California. Vargas was arrested in March of 2024 for allegedly smuggling an undocumented immigrant through the San Ysidro port of entry in his personal car. Vargas denied the human smuggling but admitted to smuggling $1,500 into the U.S. and said he was being paid $250. These numbers seem low for smuggling cash. Turns out Vargas was living in Tijuana, Mexico with his girlfriend and crossing the border every single day to work as a Border Patrol agent at the Chula Vista station. The migrant claimed he paid a smuggler $15,000. It is likely that there is much more to this story, but like most agents, Vargas was given a sweetheart deal with all 3 charges of alien smuggling being dropped. He was instead allowed to plea to a single charge of lying to federal agents. He was sentenced to time served, no fine and a year of supervised release. It is not known if he is still employed. (U.S. District Court, Southern District of CA, 24-cr-00661-J0-1) 

**CONTENT WARNING: The next arrest contains allegations of severe child sexual abuse.

Border Patrol Agent Nereo Mejia Gomez, Jr. - Yuma, Arizona. Agent Gomez was arrested by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for allegedly uploading child pornography videos on an instant messaging app. Search warrants were obtained and investigators found hidden cameras within the air ducting of his house. The image below is of Gomez setting up a camera in the air duct. He was accused of not only uploading child pornography but of making it as well. In all, investigators discovered at least 20 videos of children being sexually abused spanning the ages of 2 to 17 years. Toddlers from 2 to 5 years of age were victims in many of the videos. In November of 2024, Gomez accepted a plea deal where he admitted guilt in only 2 of the 11 charges. Judge James F. Metcalf has yet to sentence Gomez on this plea and has allowed the accused child predator to be free on bond and travel outside of the state. It is not known if Gomez is still employed with the agency. (U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, 24-cr-00783-KML-1)

There were a total of 254 employees arrested in 2025. This resulted in similar data as the prior year with 4.87 employees arrested every week, or 20.88 employees arrested each month of 2025. Again, few were covered in the media. 

The following are summaries of the most interesting cases of 2025.

**CONTENT WARNING: The next arrest contains allegations of child sexual abuse.

BORTAC Deputy Commander Efren Cornejo - Tucson, Arizona. Right out of the gate in January we learned that Cornejo was being sentenced on a plea of alleged child molestation. Originally arrested in 2021, the public was unaware of Cornejo’s crimes because Arizona has a judicial rule called Rule 123 that states if the victims were children at the time of the crime, the entire case must be sealed. This rule was made by Arizona’s Supreme Court and has done more to protect abusers than victims. There is no reason for not simply redacting victims names or just using initials in the reports other than to protect predators. Cornejo’s victims were his own daughter and step-daughter. The abuse began when they were about 9 years old and continued for 11 years. Cornejo was allowed to plea to one charge of exposure and one count molestation. Even though the now adult victims begged the judge not to let their abuser go without jail time, Pima County Judge Casey McGinley sentenced Cornejo to no prison time, lifetime probation and he doesn’t even have to register as a sex offender. Last checked, Cornejo was working for a private security contractor with Border Patrol. Judge McGinley assured the public that if he ever saw Cornejo again for such a crime, he would then be in big trouble. (That is not a joke.) (Arizona Superior Court, Pima County, CR20211008-001. Marana Police Report #2103-0433)

Border Patrol Agent Bart Conrad Yager - Sierra Vista, Arizona. Agent Yager was arrested in June of 2025 and was charged by Cochise County District Attorney’s Office with 17 counts of fraud and child sex trafficking. It is alleged that Yager committed fraud by not working when he was supposed to be in uniform guarding the border. In 2014, Yager was accused of rape on-duty. According to reports, CBP-OPR closed the investigation into the assault claiming the Tucson police did “not properly report” the allegation to CBP. Then CBP claimed the victim changed her mind about reporting after she was threatened by Yager on texts which are available according to attorneys. This sounds like another cover-up of an on-duty sexual assault by CBP-OPR. There are hundreds if not thousands of these “unsubstantiated complaints.” Yager is still going through the court system. (Arizona Superior Court, Cochise County, CR20250455. Grand Jury True Bill #GJ2025-0235)

Border Patrol Chief Gloria Chavez - Rio Grande Valley. I include Chief Chavez in this update even though she was not arrested — as far as we know. Chavez was “removed.” The word removed is used in the Border Patrol for high ranking agents who are warned by CBP-OPR investigators that charges are likely to be brought unless they resign. We saw this type of coordination between high ranking agents under investigation being warned by internal affairs with the Deputy Chief Joel Martinez and Chief Tony Barker, Jr. (2024 and 2023 respectively) “removals” for alleged sexual abuse of female agents. This allows high ranking agents to resign before charges or an arrest is made. This protects their pensions and the Border Patrol as the internal investigations simply stops once they resign.

But there’s more to the Chavez story than meets the eye. 

Chavez was under investigation by CBP-OPR for allegedly accepting gifts from a Mexican tequila maker in Jalisco and for attending events by another businessman Eduardo Garza who owns Uni-Trade, which deals with foreign trade. Garza has denied any wrongdoing. 

It is illegal for CBP and Border Patrol agents to accept anything from businesses involved with CBP or Border Patrol as this is a conflict of interest. Garza had reportedly hosted events for high ranking Border Patrol agents in Laredo on multiple occasions. He allegedly provided parties with mariachis, food, alcohol and comedians on multiple occasions for high ranking Border Patrol agents. Photos from events show Deputy Chief Joel Martinez, Chief Chavez, Chief Jason Owens and others in attendance. Chavez even travelled with Garza to Guadalajara prior to her and Chief Owens attending the tequila maker’s party in Jalisco. Garza stated that he has never paid for Border Patrol agents’ flights or rooms. Whether he did or not does not matter in terms of the agency’s policies and U.S. law.

Even though other chiefs were present at the events, it was only Chief Chavez who took the fall. Chief Owens resignedin April of 2025 along with the head of CBP-OPR Investigations and former Border Patrol Agent Daniel Altman. Chavez stayed and was “removed” in July of 2025. Please see this article on Altman’s cover-ups. 

Is it any wonder why these agents believe they are above the law when their chiefs are so blatantly corrupt?