A Mexican national has been sentenced for firearm possession as an illegal alien in the Eastern District of Texas. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Tomas Ocampo-Mondragon, 37, who was illegally residing in Tyler, admitted guilt to possessing a firearm while being an illegal alien. He received an 18-month federal prison sentence from U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on July 10, 2025.
Court records show that Ocampo-Mondragon was stopped for a traffic violation in Smith County on August 5, 2024. He was found intoxicated and arrested, with a loaded firearm discovered in his pocket during the arrest.
Investigations revealed that Ocampo-Mondragon is a Mexican citizen who had been previously found unlawfully present in the United States on September 14, 2019, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. At that time, he also possessed a firearm and voluntarily returned to Mexico on January 3, 2020, without permission to re-enter the United States.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, which utilizes the Department of Justice's full resources to combat illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The operation combines efforts from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The investigation involved Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Department of Homeland Security, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble prosecuted this case.
