A federal grand jury indicted Jaime Santiago-Corona, also known as Jaime Guzman Corona, on July 22 for illegal reentry into the United States after being previously deported, according to a statement from Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Santiago-Corona, 33 and born in Mexico, was charged under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) following his arrest earlier this month in Pitt County.
Authorities arrested Santiago-Corona on July 3 after he allegedly ran a stop sign at County Home Road and Warren Jones Road and crashed into a vehicle carrying a mother and her two children. The incident resulted in serious injuries to the mother and her four-year-old daughter. Six-year-old Calli died at the scene. The State Highway Patrol charged Santiago-Corona with several crimes, including misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a detainer requesting that North Carolina officials keep him in custody.
The indictment alleges that Santiago-Corona illegally reentered the country without permission from immigration authorities after being deported three times: October 9, 2019; June 12, 2023; and June 17, 2024. If convicted of illegal reentry, he faces up to two years in federal prison followed by deportation.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, described as a nationwide initiative using Department of Justice resources to address illegal immigration and related crime.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division is investigating the case. ICE-ERO is responsible for identifying, arresting, detaining, and removing individuals who are subject to removal or unlawfully present in the United States.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina prosecutes federal crimes—including initiatives such as Project Safe Neighborhoods—and litigates civil matters across multiple cities including Raleigh and Fayetteville; it employs over one hundred staff members covering areas with major military installations like Fort Bragg, according to its official website.