Five foreign nationals have faced the music in court this January for illegally returning to the United States after their previous deportations. As reported by the Department of Justice, these separate cases mark a continued effort by U.S. authorities to enforce immigration laws and address concerns regarding repeat illegal entries.
Among those sentenced is Roberto Garcia-Antonio, a 49-year-old Dominican national, who received an 18-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage. Garcia-Antonio, with aliases such as Angel Rondon and Roberto Sandoval-Antonio, had been deported from the U.S. five times prior, making this his fifth illegal reentry conviction. He encountered law enforcement during a search warrant execution in Philadelphia, in January 2025, which led to his custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Ricardo Henriquez Carmona, another Dominican national, age 55 was handed a 14-month prison term and a subsequent year of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge. Found guilty of narcotics offenses and a host of other crimes including aggravated assault, Henriquez Carmona had been previously removed from the U.S. back in the summer of 1997.
Meanwhile, Mexican national Magdaleno Ochoa-Avalos, 42, received a 12-month and one-day prison sentence from U.S. District Judge Mia Roberts Perez. Ochoa-Avalos, who had been deported multiple times previously, was nabbed once again after ICE received a tip-off about his return to the U.S. in early 2025.
Adding to the list, 33-year-old Luis Urrutia-Noyola and 51-year-old Diego Jacome-Esquibel, both Mexican nationals, were also sentenced after their illegal reentries into the country. Urrutia-Noyola was handed time served, approximately four months, by U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHugh, after ICE learned about his arrest for domestic violence. Jacome-Esquibel, dealt with by U.S. District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer, also received a time served sentence, roughly equating to three and a half months after his arrest in October by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
These cases are emblematic of Operation Take Back America's stern stance, a broad-sweeping Department of Justice initiative aiming to staunch illegal immigration, dismantle cartels, and protect communities from violent crime. Spearheaded by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and HSI, these initiatives focus on individuals with past criminal convictions or multiple illegal entries, as highlighted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
