A Mexican national has been sentenced for illegally reentering the United States, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Texas, Abe McGlothin, Jr.
Valentin Hernandez-Yanez, 38, pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry by a deported alien and was given a sentence amounting to time already served. U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale issued the sentence on April 2, 2025. Hernandez-Yanez has been in custody since July 2024 and subsequently is held on an immigration detainer. Homeland Security will process him prior to deportation back to Mexico.
At the court hearing, details emerged that Hernandez-Yanez was identified by federal immigration agents in Vidor, Texas, on April 30, 2024. The agents recognized him from previous encounters. A check on the immigration database showed Hernandez-Yanez as a Mexican national who had been deported in June 2011. It was noted that he had not applied for reentry into the United States since his last deportation.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative of the Department of Justice targeting illegal immigration and efforts to dismantle cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The initiative also aims to protect communities from violent crime. Operation Take Back America leverages resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Quinn oversaw the prosecution.
