Bernabe Montalvo Salas, a 24-year-old Mexican citizen residing illegally in Charleston, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on September 10, 2025, to the charge of reentry of a removed alien. He was sentenced to time served and will be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) administrative custody for removal proceedings.
Court documents indicate that law enforcement encountered Salas in South Charleston on March 28, 2025. ICE agents confirmed his status as a Mexican national who had previously been deported from the United States. Salas did not possess identification documents granting him legal status in the country.
Salas was first removed from the United States to Mexico on or about March 4, 2019, after being found near Roma, Texas. Since then, he did not obtain consent from the Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security to reapply for admission nor seek legal reentry.
ICE agents also encountered two brothers of Salas living illegally in Charleston. Maximino Montalvo Salas, age 20, was deported after pleading guilty on July 24, 2025, to knowingly possessing a fraudulent Permanent Resident Card. Federico Montalvo Salas, age 22, pleaded guilty on July 1, 2025, to reentry of a removed alien and is scheduled for sentencing on October 23, 2025. ICE has placed an immigration detainer on Federico Montalvo Salas as well.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced the outcome and recognized the investigative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). "Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)."
Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing and imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted the case as part of a special unit within the Southern District of West Virginia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office focused on immigration enforcement objectives under Operation Take Back America.
Operation Take Back America is described as a nationwide initiative that coordinates resources from various Department of Justice programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) with aims including addressing illegal immigration and targeting transnational criminal organizations.
Further information about this case can be found by searching Case No. 2:25-cr-81 on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..
