Mexican Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Return to the United States After Removal

Gulfport, Miss. - A Mexican national pled guilty to the federal crime of unlawful return of an alien after removal, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca of the Southern District of Mississippi, and Jason E. Schneider, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol's New Orleans Sector.

According to court documents, Arce Manuel Gomez-Salazar, 30, of Mexico, was arrested on July 8, 2022, on U.S. Highway 90, in Harrison County. A State Trooper of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol was conducting a vehicle safety checkpoint when he encountered a vehicle driven by Gomez-Salazar. The Trooper asked Gomez-Salazar for his driver's license, and neither Gomez-Salazar nor his three passengers had a valid driver's license. None of the vehicle occupants were citizens of the U.S. and all were determined to be unlawfully present in the U.S.

Records revealed that Gomez-Salazar had been arrested by the Border Patrol in Texas, in 2018, and ordered removed to his home nation of Mexico by a U.S. Immigration Judge

Gomez-Salazar is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8, 2022 at 1:30 p.m., and faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 1 year of Supervised Release. After completing any sentence of incarceration, he also is subject to Homeland Security proceedings to remove him again from the United States. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Gomez-Salazar's passengers were administratively processed since none of the passengers had been previously removed from the U.S.

The case was investigated by the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the U.S. Border Patrol.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.