Fifteen Defendants Charged with Federal Immigration Crimes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Alabama has charged 15 individuals with immigration crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona.

The following defendants were indicted for illegally reentering the United States after having previously been deported:

• Salvador Rodriguez-Villa, of Mexico;
• Noel Paz-Diaz, 34, of Guatemala;
• Christian Mendoza-Salas, 29, of Mexico;
• Isidro Gutierrez Gabriel, 35, of Guatemala;
• Mateo Pascual-Francisco, 40, of Guatemala;
• Tomas Naz-Gonzalez, 27, of Guatemala;
• Marco Julio Agustin-Miranda, 27, of Guatemala;
• Rafael Juan-Francisco, 35, of Guatemala;
• Jose Rigoberto Acosta-Calles, 36, of El Salvador;
• Elmer Geovany Sarmiento-Sifrian, 32, of Honduras;

The following defendants were charged with being an alien in possession of a firearm:

• Elmer David Hernandez-Garcia, 39, of Honduras;
• Christian Ivan Sanchez, 36, of Mexico;
• Jhoan Jesus Rodriguez-Perez, 21, of Mexico;
• Orli Umberto Marquez-Cordon, 24, of Mexico;

Maria Monserrat de Jesus Bautista-Hernandez, 41, of Mexico, has been charged with illegal re-entry after a prior removal and for being an alien in possession of a firearm.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). Operation Take Back America partners, Homeland Security Investigations – Atlanta, U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Houston Division, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Nashville Field Division, investigated these cases. 

An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.