Two previously deported Honduran nationals arrested for illegal re-entry

BUFFALO, N.Y. –Acting U.S. Attorney Joel L. Violanti announced today that Javier Antonio Cruz, 27, and Junior Eduardo Garcia Castro, 28, both citizens of Honduras, were arrested and charged in separate complaints with illegal re-entry after deportation, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Rudroff and Andrew J. Henning, who are handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on the evening of February 18, 2025, the North Tonawanda Police Department stopped a vehicle on Niagara Falls Boulevard for a traffic violation. Both defendants were passengers in the vehicle.

A records check determined that in 2020, defendant Cruz was convicted in Irving, Texas, of a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Further investigation also determined that Cruz was ordered removed multiple times by an immigration judge, and deported in 2018 and 2024. A second records check determined that defendant Castro faces multiple charges for Driving Without a License in the state of Georgia. And further investigation determined that he also was ordered removed multiple times by an immigration judge and was also deported from the United States in 2018, and on two occasions in April 2022.

Cruz and Castro made initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and were detained.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan and Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of Field Operations Rose Brophy.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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