A Mexican man has been sentenced for illegally entering the United States multiple times since 2019. Odilon Valdes-De Jesus, 55, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of illegal reentry. He was sentenced to time served and will be handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol upon release, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the case.
Court documents revealed that Valdes first entered the country without authorization in 2019. On October 3, 2019, he was apprehended by El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents and removed from the United States through the Calexico, California Port of Entry on October 4, 2019. He returned illegally on October 5, 2019, and was removed again on October 6, 2019. Valdes crossed back into the country on October 8, 2019, only to be removed a third time on October 9.
Valdes was encountered by law enforcement in Havre, Montana on May 13, 2025. He admitted he had no legal immigration documents and confessed to entering without authorization a fourth time around July 15, 2020 near Eagle Pass, Texas.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Myers prosecuted the case which was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative aimed at addressing illegal immigration and dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). The operation leverages resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
