Mexican Citizen Living Illegally in Charleston Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced for Immigration Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Maximino Montalvo Salas, 20, a Mexican citizen living illegally in Charleston, pleaded guilty today to the felony offense of knowingly possessing a fraudulent Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”) and was sentenced to time served. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has an immigration detainers on Salas and he will be transferred to ICE administrative custody for removal proceedings.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 28, 2025, law enforcement officers encountered Salas in Charleston. ICE agents confirmed that Salas is a citizen of Mexico in the United States illegally and used a counterfeited Immigration Form I-551, also known as a Permanent Resident Card or Green Card, to obtain employment in the United States.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing and imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted the case, as part of a special unit within the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia focused on the immigration enforcement objectives of Operation Take Back America.

Operation Take Back America is 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).

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-83.

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