Multiple individuals unlawfully present in the United States have recently pled guilty to immigration-related offenses in Maryland, according to a June 2 announcement by U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. The prosecutions are part of the Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America.
According to the announcement, Israel Reyes-Medina, 39, a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty on May 5 to illegal re-entry after being previously deported. Reyes-Medina had been convicted earlier for illegal entry and was removed from the United States on four prior occasions. Law enforcement located him in Middle River, Maryland, on January 8 during an area enforcement operation.
On May 27, Nery Adelso Asmen-Raymundo, 43, a citizen and national of Guatemala, pled guilty to illegal entry into the United States. Authorities had previously removed Asmen-Raymundo from the country twice—once in November 2009 and again in March 2010. He was found by law enforcement on April 23 in Baltimore.
The cases are prosecuted under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative described as marshaling resources from 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.” Hayes commended U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) as well as the FBI for their work on these investigations. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Mills is prosecuting both cases.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland serves nearly six million residents across Maryland; it is part of the U.S. Department of Justice with over 200 personnel across civil, criminal, and administrative divisions responsible for prosecuting federal crimes, handling civil cases for the government, collecting debts owed to federal agencies or victims—and counts alumni among prominent government leaders, according to its official website.