Mexican National Sentenced to 13 Months in Federal Prison Following Eighth Illegal Reentry and Seventh Deportation

INDIANAPOLIS— Manuel Vasquez-Mongia (a/k/a Manuel Vasquez-Mungia), 32, of Mexico, has been sentenced to 13 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to illegal reentry of a removed alien.  

According to court documents, between 2011 and 2015, Vasquez-Mongia was found to be illegally in the United States on seven separate occasions. Each time, he was ordered removed to Mexico by an immigration judge and prohibited from entering the United States for a period of five to twenty years.

On October 15, 2015, after illegally reentering the United States a seventh time, Vasquez-Mongia was found guilty of Transportation of Illegal Aliens and sentenced to six months in federal prison. Following release, he was again deported to Mexico and prohibited from entering the United States at any time.

Nearly a decade later, on September 11, 2024, Vasquez-Mongia was located and arrested in Indianapolis after entering the country illegally for the eighth time. This is his fifth federal conviction for immigration offenses.

“Vasquez-Mongia has repeatedly shown blatant disregard for the law,” said John E. Childress, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Despite multiple deportations and warnings not to return, he reentered almost immediately—even bringing others with him. He clearly thought he could evade justice, but today’s sentence proves otherwise. We will continue working with ICE and our partners to locate and remove individuals who illegally enter our country.”

Immigration Customs and Enforcement and U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon.

Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Wood prosecuted this case.

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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