A Guatemalan national has been sentenced to seven months in federal prison for unlawfully reentering the United States after previously being removed. Felino Fernando Perez-Jimenez, 25, was found by law enforcement officials to be in the country illegally on January 11, 2025, following his arrest by the Carthage Police Department on charges including simple assault, resisting arrest, public intoxication, and failure to comply with an officer.
The next day, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) encountered Perez-Jimenez at the Leake County Jail in Carthage, Mississippi. A records check confirmed that he is a citizen of Guatemala and did not have valid immigration documents permitting him to remain in the United States. He had previously been removed from the country in 2023.
Perez-Jimenez was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 4, 2025, and later pleaded guilty on May 2, 2025.
"Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon; Eric P. DeLaune, Special Agent-in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana; and Brian Acuna, Acting Field Office Director of ICE/ERO in New Orleans, made the announcement."
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Wade Allen and Kimberly T. Purdie prosecuted the case.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations as part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), a nationwide initiative that brings together resources from the Department of Justice to address illegal immigration and related criminal activity. The operation coordinates efforts with programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
