A Guatemalan national residing in Beltsville, Maryland, pled guilty on July 28 to illegal re-entry after prior removal, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. Bayron Leopoldo Perez Batres, 64, admitted in federal court that he unlawfully returned to the United States after being removed on three separate occasions: January 1996, September 2009, and May 2010.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin of Homeland Security Investigations – Maryland.
Court documents state that law enforcement arrested Perez Batres on September 6, 2024, in Maryland on state charges relating to sexual abuse of a minor. He pled guilty to those charges on September 2, 2025. At no time did Perez Batres receive consent from the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission into the United States as required by law.
Perez Batres faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20 at 10 a.m., with a federal district court judge determining any sentence based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended Homeland Security Investigations for its work and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Li and Brooke Oki as well as Trial Attorneys Matthew Thiman and Sean F. Mulryne from the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section for prosecuting this case.
The indictment and plea were coordinated by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which leads efforts against high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and transnational criminal organizations throughout North America and beyond.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, described as a nationwide initiative utilizing resources from the Department of Justice against illegal immigration and transnational crime.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland serves nearly six million residents across Maryland; prosecutes federal crimes; handles civil cases; collects government debts; employs over 200 personnel across civil, criminal, and administrative divisions; enhances quality of life through justice administration; counts alumni in prominent leadership roles; and is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, according to its official website.