A Roma man once went to federal prison for smuggling migrants. Now he is accused of doing it again. Federal agents say Celso Ivan Rios-Avalos used his own event hall to move six people. The six had crossed the border illegally.

This is not Rios's first run-in with immigration agents. He served 15 months in federal prison after a 2019 smuggling case. Now, seven years later, he faces a new federal charge. If he is convicted, he could go back to prison.

On July 25, Border Patrol agents flew a small drone near Roma. They spotted a white Chevrolet Colorado truck. The truck is registered to Rios. Agents say it drove slowly near brush. Smugglers often use that trick to check for hidden migrants.

About three hours later, agents saw the same truck again. It was moving slowly near Huisache Street and Colima Street. Six people ran out of nearby brush. They ran toward an abandoned house at 96 Huisache Street. Agents say the house had been used before to hide migrants.

The white truck pulled up and parked under a tree at the house. A few minutes passed. Then someone climbed into the back seat. The truck drove off. It went about two blocks to RJA's Event Center. Rios owns that business in Roma.

A Texas DPS trooper and Roma police got close to the Event Center. The truck sped off toward Highway 83. A Roma police officer saw it run a stop sign. He pulled it over about half a mile away. The driver gave his name as Celso Ivan Rios. He is a U.S. citizen.

Agents went back to the abandoned house. They knocked. People inside opened the door. Agents found four people inside. They found two more people hiding in the carport behind RJA's Event Center. That made six people total.

The six said they came from Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico. All six admitted they crossed into the U.S. illegally. Immigration checks confirmed none of them had legal papers to be here.

Rios told agents he owns the event center. He said he owns the white truck too. Agents read him his rights. He chose not to talk without a lawyer.

One of the six, Jorge Vera-Gonzalez, gave agents a statement. He said he crossed the Rio Grande on a raft with five others. He said he agreed to pay about $11,000 to be smuggled in. He said the group walked about six hours. They reached what agents describe as an abandoned blue house.

Vera-Gonzalez said a man in the group told him he would move them. That man put him and another migrant in a new white truck. They sat behind the driver. The driver dropped them behind a house. He told them to stay there. Agents showed Vera-Gonzalez six photos. He said one photo looked like the driver. He said he knew the shirt, the hair and the light skin.

Court records show a similar case from years earlier. Back in 2019, Rios and another man, Manuel Sepulveda Jr., were accused of driving migrants near Fronton. A grand jury indicted both men that July. Rios pleaded guilty that September. He admitted to conspiring, or teaming up, to move migrants who were in the country illegally. A judge dropped two other charges as part of his plea deal.

In December 2019, a federal judge sentenced Rios. He got 15 months in prison. He also got three years of supervised release. That is like probation. He had to check in with an officer. Now, seven years later, he faces a similar charge again.

Rios is charged under 8 U.S.C. 1324. That is the federal law against moving and hiding people who are in the country illegally. He has not been convicted in this new case. Under the law, he is presumed innocent unless he is proven guilty.

A federal magistrate judge held a bond hearing on July 29. The judge set bond at $30,000. Rios had to pay $2,000 in cash up front. Rosa Isela Sifuentes Baza posted his bond that same day. Rios must follow strict rules now. He cannot travel outside the McAllen federal court district in South Texas. He cannot travel to Mexico. He must give up his passport. He cannot own guns. He cannot drink too much alcohol or use drugs. He must wear a GPS monitor. He has a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. His lawyer is Tania Yanet Ramirez of Mission. He first had a court-appointed lawyer, Joe Jacinto, before he switched to Ramirez.

Vera-Gonzalez is the material witness in the case. That means the court can hold him so he can testify later. He remains in custody without bond because he has no legal status. His court-appointed lawyer is Rolando Cantu. A judge ordered him to give sworn testimony on September 10.