GRIMY TIMES EXCLUSIVE: Pedro Aranda-Zaragoza, a 49-year-old Mexican national, has pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry into the United States after being deported. The defendant, who faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison, admitted to returning to the U.S. despite having been legally removed from the country in 2018.
Aranda-Zaragoza’s transgression was uncovered on April 24, 2025, during a routine Homeland Security Investigations review at El Patron Mexican Grill in Vancleave, MS. The defendant confessed to being an alien in the U.S. illegally and returning after having been removed from the United States in 2012.
Despite Aranda-Zaragoza’s prior removal, he had not obtained permission to re-enter the country legally. He is now set to be sentenced on August 26, 2025, by a federal district court judge who will consider U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors before imposing sentence.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon, commended Homeland Security Investigations for their work in this case. The investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and protecting communities from violent crime.
The charges against Aranda-Zaragoza are part of a larger federal operation that mobilizes the Department of Justice’s full resources to address illegal immigration and dismantle criminal organizations.
For more information, visit www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline.
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Key Facts
- State: Mississippi
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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