Three Illegal Aliens Plead Guilty to Unlawfully Reentering After Prior Removal

Gulfport, Miss. – Daniel Martinez-Rodriguez, 42, Jorge Rios-Juaquin, 41, and Anastacio Compean-Galicia, 37, all illegal aliens from Mexico, pled guilty this week before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., to the federal crime of unlawful reentry by an alien after removal, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, and Mr. Trey Lund, Acting Field Office Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations in New Orleans. Martinez-Rodriguez pled guilty yesterday, while Rios-Juaquin and Compean-Galicia pled guilty on Wednesday.

All three men are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Guirola on January 3, 2019. Each man faces up to 2 years imprisonment, not more than 1 year supervised release, and a maximum $250,000 fine. Each also faces being removed from the United States by the Department of Homeland Security following the completion of any prison sentence.

"We will remain vigilant in enforcing and prosecuting those who wantonly violate our immigration laws, especially aliens like these who violate our other criminal laws, as their actions put us, our families, and our fellow citizens in danger. I commend the resilience and determination of our local officers, ICE agents and prosecutors in bringing these individuals to justice before they truly harm others," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

On May 23, 2018, Martinez-Rodriguez was encountered by ICE officers in Bay St. Louis while conducting fugitive operations. Department of Homeland Security computerized record checks using Martinez-Rodriguez’s fingerprints revealed that Martinez-Rodriguez was born in Mexico and had been previously arrested and convicted in the City of Waveland in 2015 for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Martinez-Rodriquez was physically removed by ICE to Mexico in 2017.

On May 22, 2018, Rios-Juaquin was arrested by the Gulfport Police Department, and on May 30, 2018, he was convicted of the misdemeanor offense of providing False Identification to a Law Enforcement Officer. Thereafter, ICE officers arrested Rios-Juaquin and Homeland

Security records revealed that Rios-Juaquin had been previously arrested by the Biloxi Police Department and was physically removed by ICE from the United States to Mexico in 2011. However, he returned to the United States and again was lawfully removed to Mexico in September 2014, after another arrest by the Gulfport Police Department. The following month, Rios-Juaquin returned to the United States and was removed again from Texas to Mexico in October 2014. Thereafter, Rios-Juaquin returned again in 2015, and after another arrest by the Gulfport Police Department, he was lawfully removed again from the United States to Mexico in November 2015. After his removal in 2015, Rios-Juaquin unlawfully returned again and was convicted in August 2017, in the Circuit Court of Harrison County, of a felony offense (Taking a Vehicle) and served approximately 1 year in state prison.

On May 22, 2018, Compean-Galicia, using the name of Orlando Martinez, was taken into custody by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department for Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Careless Driving, and Driving With No Driver’s License. On May 24, 2018, Compean-Galicia was arrested by ICE and was positively identified through computerized record revealing he had been lawfully ordered removed by a United States Immigration Judge in 2010, after being convicted of DUI in Gulfport Municipal Court in Harrison County. Records verified that he was physically removed from the United States to Mexico in 2010. However, Compean-Galicia returned to the United States in 2013 and was arrested again for DUI in Gautier, MS. Thereafter, records document that his order of removal was reinstated, and he was physically removed again from the United States to Mexico in 2014.

U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the cooperation exhibited by the Department of Homeland Security, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the City of Waveland Police Department, the City of Gulfport Police Department, the City of Biloxi Police Department, the City of Gautier Police Department, and the Sheriff’s Departments of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties. Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for each of the three cases.