Five people from Honduras are facing federal charges for violating US immigration laws after being arrested in different cities across northern Ohio. A federal grand jury returned indictments this week on accusations ranging from illegal reentry to possession of fraudulent identification documents.
Marcos Bardales-Lopez, 26; Rigoberto Gomez-Arguijo, 45; and Oscar Mendoza, 52, all Honduran citizens, were charged with illegal reentry after removal under Title 8 U.S. Code 1326, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. Following past deportations, each was located in the United States without lawful authorization or the consent of either the United States Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security.
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Bardales-Lopez was located in Maumee, Ohio (Lucas County) on January 12, after having been deported on December 6, 2019. Gomez-Arguijo was discovered in Marion (Marion County) on January 8, with his most recent removal on October 28, 2010. Mendoza, who was discovered in Maumee on January 12, had been deported most recently on January 17, 2008.
Fraudulent Identification Charges
Two other people are facing separate charges for fake documentation. Jimy Antonio Portillo-Ramirez, 23, of Honduras, and Jose Alfredo Reyes-Gonzalez, 33, of Mexico, were each charged with two counts of possessing a fraudulent identification document. Portillo-Ramirez was captured in Vickery, Ohio (Sandusky County), on January 6, and Reyes-Gonzalez was apprehended in Oak Harbor, Ohio (Ottawa County), on January 18.
The arrests and subsequent prosecutions were the result of joint investigations by the US Border Patrol’s Sandusky Bay Station and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Operation Take Back America
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that mobilizes the Department of Justice’s full resources to combat the invasion of illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent criminals.
The prosecutions are being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Ava Rotell Dustin, Dexter L. Phillips, and Frank H. Spryszak.
These cases highlight federal law enforcement’s ongoing efforts to seek out, detain, and prosecute individuals with prior deportations or fake identification crimes, confirming the US government’s stance on unlawful reentry and documentation offenses.
