Illegal Immigrant Sentenced For Reentering the United States

According to court documents, Bernaldo Martinez-Chagala, 40, was arrested by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office on January 29, 2025, for a traffic violation.  A Border Patrol officer responded to the traffic stop.  Border Patrol was able to determine that Martinez-Chagala had previously been removed from the United States in 2010 and in 2020.

At sentencing, Judge Granade imposed a time-served sentence and a 1-year term of supervised release upon his future release.  Martinez-Chagala had been in custody since his arrest on January 29, 2025.  Upon his release from prison, Martinez-Chagala is to be referred to immigration officials for deportation proceedings.  Martinez-Chagala was ordered to pay $100 in special assessments.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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.