Four men have been charged with illegal re-entry into the United States, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York. The charges stem from separate incidents in which each defendant was found without valid immigration documents.
The individuals named in the criminal complaints are Salvador Vargas Nava, 43, a Mexican national; Juver Vidal Quex Tocora, 29, a Guatemalan national; and Jose de Jesus Rodiguez Esparza, 32, and Mauricio Rangel Rangel, 48, both Mexican nationals.
Vargas Nava was stopped by law enforcement on October 20 in Concord, New York after running two stop signs. He did not have valid documentation permitting him to be in the country and had previously been removed from the United States in July 2009.
On the same day in Amherst, New York, officers encountered Quex Tocora. He also lacked proper immigration documents and had been removed from the country in May 2013.
Rodiguez Esparza and Rangel Rangel were stopped on October 16 during a traffic stop involving vehicles linked to a company suspected of transporting and hiring undocumented immigrants. Rangel Rangel admitted he did not have legal status and had been deported in October 2014. Rodiguez Esparza attempted to flee but was apprehended; he also lacked legal documentation and had previously been removed from the U.S. in September 2016.
All four defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr., where they were detained pending further proceedings.
"This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime," said U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Border Patrol Buffalo Station under Patrol Agent-in-Charge David Banks. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sasha Mascarenhas is prosecuting these cases.
"The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty," stated DiGiacomo.
