Guatemalan National Indicted For Illegal Reentry Into The United States After Being Previously Deported

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Samuel Ortiz-Ordonez (24, Guatemala) with illegal reentry by a previously deported alien. If convicted, Ortiz-Ordonez faces up to two years in federal prison and subsequent deportation and removal from the United States.

According to court documents, Ortiz-Ordonez was previously removed from the United States on June 15, 2023. Ortiz-Ordonez has never applied to the Attorney General of the United States and/or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for permission to lawfully reenter the United States. On March 13, 2025, Ortiz-Ordonez was found voluntarily back in the United States in Jacksonville, where he was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. After being approached by ICE officers, Ortiz-Ordonez abandoned the vehicle that he was driving and fled on foot through a local residential neighborhood. After a brief chase, he was apprehended by ICE officers.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

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).