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BELGRADE, MT – Juan Diego Rojas-Meneses, 20, walked out of a Montana courtroom and straight into the hands of the U.S. Border Patrol this week. The Mexican national was sentenced to time served – 219 days – for illegally re-entering the country after being kicked out not once, but twice, last year through El Paso, Texas.
According to court papers, Belgrade police and federal agents raided a residence on August 12th, 2025, finding Rojas-Meneses inside. He admitted to being in the U.S. without papers. A quick check revealed he’d been deported September 1st and September 23rd, 2024. No legal permission to return was ever filed.
Rojas-Meneses pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of reentry of a removed alien. Judge Dana L. Christensen handed down the sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus handled the prosecution. The bust was a joint effort between the U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, the Belgrade Police Department, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations.
Federal officials are framing the case as part of “Operation Take Back America,” a broad DOJ push to crack down on illegal immigration and “transnational criminal organizations” – a phrase often used to justify increased border enforcement.