Busted: Repeat Illegal Alien Sentenced

⏱ 2 min read

RELATED: Deported Sex Offender Back in Court

SEE ALSO: Repeat Offenders: 14 Deportations, Prison Time

BELGRADE, MT – Juan Diego Rojas-Meneses, 20, won’t be sticking around Montana. The Mexican national was sentenced to the 219 days he’d already spent behind bars and immediately turned over to U.S. Border Patrol agents yesterday, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot.

Rojas-Meneses pleaded guilty last November to illegally re-entering the country after being deported twice in a matter of months – September 1st and September 23rd of 2024, both through El Paso, Texas. He didn’t bother with getting permission from anyone to come back.

Local law enforcement hit a Belgrade residence on August 12th, 2025, where they found Rojas-Meneses. He reportedly admitted to being a Mexican citizen without valid U.S. immigration papers. A quick check of the records confirmed his deportation history.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus handled the prosecution. The bust was a joint effort by Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Belgrade PD, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations.

Federal officials are framing this case as part of “Operation Take Back America,” a broad initiative aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and dismantling cartels – a loaded phrase in the ongoing debate over border security.