Illegal Alien Sentenced for Possession of a Firearm

Hattiesburg, Miss. – Gregorio Xolotl-Hipolito, 42, an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett to 15 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Mr. William Joyce, Acting Field Office Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations, in New Orleans, and Special Agent-in-Charge Kurt Thielhorn with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Upon completion of his federal prison sentence, Xolotl-Hipolito will be surrendered to the administrative custody of ICE officials in the Department of Homeland Security, where he will face removal proceedings to remove him from the United States to his home nation of Mexico.  Were he to return to the U.S. during the three-year period after his imprisonment, he would be subject to additional prison time consecutive to imprisonment that could result from further prosecution for the crime of return-after-removal.  Xolotl-Hipolito pled guilty before Judge Starrett, on October 1, 2019.  

On June 24, 2019, while conducting Criminal Alien Program duties at the Forrest County Adult Detention Center, in Hattiesburg, an agent of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) encountered Xolotl-Hipolito, who had been arrested by Hattiesburg Police for possession of a stolen firearm and driving while consuming alcohol.  When stopped by police, Xolotl-Hipolito had no driver’s license and only a Tennessee ID card.  A .22 caliber pistol was found in plain view next to Xolotl-Hipolito in the vehicle of which he was the sole occupant.  Police also found .22 ammunition in Xolotl-Hipolito’s pocket as well as elsewhere in the vehicle.  Local officials notified ICE, and Xolotl-Hipolito was identified as an illegal alien from Mexico who had been removed from the United States.  Records revealed that, in 2011, an Immigration Judge ordered Xolotl-Hipolito removed from the U.S.  Records also documented that Xolotl-Hipolito illegally reentered the U.S. and was removed four previous  times.

Additionally, police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), determined that the pistol had been reported as stolen.  ATF also determined that the firearm had traveled in and affected interstate commerce. 

U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the cooperation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Enforcement Removal Operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hattiesburg Police Department and the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris was the prosecutor for the case.