The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland has announced recent prosecutions related to the Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America, a national initiative aimed at addressing illegal immigration and combating transnational criminal organizations.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes made the announcement alongside Acting Field Office Director Vernon Liggins of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE-ERO) – Baltimore Field Office.
U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Edwin Armando Sanchez-Montiel, a 32-year-old Salvadoran national living in Silver Spring, Maryland, to 16 and a half months in federal prison for re-entering the United States after being removed following a conviction as an accessory after the fact to first degree murder in Montgomery County, Maryland.
In another case, U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Cesar Odilo Contreras-Lopez, a 27-year-old Guatemalan national residing in Hyattsville, Maryland, to 63 days in federal prison for re-entering the country after a prior removal.
A federal grand jury also indicted Willians Elenilson Beltran-Quintanilla, 39, of El Salvador, charging him with illegally re-entering the United States after two previous removals.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, these cases are part of Operation Take Back America, which uses resources from the Department of Justice to address illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
"U.S. Attorney Hayes commended ICE-ERO for its work in these investigations. Ms. Hayes also thanked the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted these federal cases."
More information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and its community resources can be found at justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
