Rebecca C. Lutzko United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
Federal grand juries in Toledo, Ohio, have indicted three individuals on charges of illegal reentry after previous removal from the United States. The indictments were returned on January 7 and allege that the defendants, all found in northwestern Ohio, had entered the country without permission from either the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland Security.
Francisco Constancio-Mariscal, 37, a citizen of Mexico, was located in Port Clinton (Ottawa County) on January 4. He had previously been removed from the United States at least twice, most recently on April 28, 2011.
Guillermo Gutierrez-Rivas, 35, also a citizen of Mexico, was found in Benton Township (Ottawa County) on December 19, 2025. Authorities state he had been removed at least once before, with his latest removal occurring on June 29, 2024.
Alvaro Veliz-Gonzalez, 34, a citizen of Guatemala, was discovered in Toledo (Lucas County) on December 8, 2025. He had reportedly been removed from the country at least four times prior to this incident; his most recent removal was on October 11, 2021.
The cases are unrelated and stem from investigations by U.S. Border Patrol-Sandusky Bay Station and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Al-Sorghali, Robert N. Melching, and Alissa M. Sterling are prosecuting these cases for the Northern District of Ohio.
According to officials: "An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."
These prosecutions fall under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative designed to use Department of Justice resources to counter illegal immigration and target criminal organizations involved in violent crime.
