Sean P. Costello U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama
Two foreign nationals were sentenced in federal court this week for illegally reentering the United States after previous deportations. The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a national initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at addressing illegal immigration.
Court documents state that Hermes Castillo, 44, and Miguel Alvarado-Villanueva, 36, both from Honduras, were stopped by the Elberta Police Department in Alabama on May 29, 2025. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was informed and arrested both men after determining their presence in the country was unlawful.
Castillo had been deported three times before and previously convicted for possession of cocaine under Florida law as well as illegal reentry in 2012. Alvarado-Villanueva had also been deported three times. Both defendants received sentences of time served and a one-year term of supervised release if not deported. They have remained in custody since their arrests and will be transferred to immigration officials for deportation proceedings upon release.
Additional prosecutions under Operation Take Back America included other individuals sentenced for illegal reentry offenses:
- In July, Miguel Castro-Gonzales, 48, from Mexico, was arrested by the Summerdale Police Department for public intoxication and resisting arrest on May 18, 2025. Immigration authorities determined he had been deported three times.
- Albert Marel Padilla-Castro, 43, from Honduras, was stopped by Saraland Police on May 6, 2025; U.S. Border Patrol found he had previously been removed twice.
- In August, Antonio Flores, 41 (Mexico), Ali Torres-Barahona, 34 (Honduras), and Jorge Magana-Cartagena, 31 (El Salvador), were also sentenced. Flores was initially arrested for DUI by Foley Police but released under an alias before his identity was confirmed by ICE/ERO; he had been deported twice prior to his June federal arrest. Torres-Barahona was arrested by Mobile Police for organized retail theft on June 8; ICE/ERO identified him as having been deported three times. Magana-Cartagena was encountered during a worksite enforcement operation in Foley on June 16; HSI agents confirmed two prior removals.
All defendants received sentences of time served with orders to transfer to immigration officials upon release and $100 special assessments each.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama announced these outcomes.
The investigations involved multiple agencies: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with several local police departments including Elberta, Summerdale, Saraland, Foley and Mobile.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin D. Kopf prosecuted these cases.
According to the announcement: "In addition to repelling the invasion of illegal immigration, Operation Take Back America aim includes the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protecting our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."
The initiative also states: "In addition to repelling the invasion of illegal immigration, the Operation Take Bank America initiative is committed to leveraging Department of Justice resources to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."
