Mexican National Living Illegally in Charleston Pleads Guilty to Immigration Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Federico Montalvo Salas, 22, a Mexican national residing illegally in Charleston, pleaded guilty today to reentry of a removed alien. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has an immigration detainer on Salas so he will be transferred to ICE administrative custody for removal proceedings at the conclusion of any sentence.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 28, 2025, Salas was arrested by law enforcement in the South Charleston area. ICE agents confirmed that Salas was a citizen of Mexico in the United States illegally and that he had previously been deported from the United States. Salas had no identification documents permitting him legal status in the United States.

Salas was removed from the United States to Mexico on June 28, 2024, after being found that day near Douglas, Arizona. Salas never obtained the express consent of the Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States for either of the prior removals, nor did he seek to reenter the United States through other legal means.

Salas is scheduled to be sentenced on October 23, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and up to one year of supervised release. Salas will be subject to deportation proceedings at the conclusion of any sentence.

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 Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting 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-82.

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