Ecuadorian National Sentenced for Illegally Entering the U.S. After a Prior Removal

PORTLAND, Maine: An Ecuadorian national was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for illegally entering the U.S. after a prior removal.

U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Juan Pablo Clabijo Tacuri, 37, to time served (approximately 105 days).

According to court records, on January 27, 2025, an officer from the Brunswick Police Department observed Clabijo Tacuri operating a vehicle without a seatbelt. After Clabijo Tacuri pulled into a gas station parking lot, the officer approached the vehicle. When asked for his license, Clabijo Tacuri presented a Massachusetts driver’s license with a false name. Immigration records showed that he had previously been removed from the United States on four occasions and did not have a visa or other documentation that would allow him to re-enter the United States.

U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case with assistance from the Brunswick Police Department.

Operation Take Back America: 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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

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