Twice deported Mexican national indicted for unlawfully returning to the United States

TYLER, Texas – A Mexican national, illegally living in Tyler, has been charged with unlawfully returning to the United States, announced Eastern District of Texas Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Jose Luis Rosales-Betancourt, 39, was named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week in the Eastern District of Texas charging him with unlawful reentry following removal.

The indictment alleges that on July 8, 2025, Betancourt was twice previously deported in 2008 and 2013. Public records also indicate that Betancourt was previously convicted in 2006 of aggravated robbery in Smith County, after which he received a five-year prison sentence. Betancourt was again convicted in 2012 for illegal reentry following removal in the Eastern District of Texas, for which he was sentenced to 30 months.

This case is 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).

If convicted, Betancourt faces up to 20 years in federal prison and deportation.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations-Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.

A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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