Gulfport, MS – Two Mexican nationals have been caught and charged with unlawful reentry by an alien after removal. Jose Garcia Faustino and Ernesto Santiago-Baltazar, both 21, were arrested on January 28, 2019, after a highway traffic stop in Jackson County.
According to U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, the duo was among eight occupants in a GMC Yukon XL with South Carolina license plates on interstate I-10 eastbound when Border Patrol Agents arrived on the scene. The agents determined that none of the vehicle occupants had proper documents and all were illegally present in the United States.
All eight occupants were arrested and transported to the Border Patrol Station in Gulfport. A Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent later joined Border Patrol Agents and determined the six passengers were being smuggled within the United States.
Further investigation revealed that both men are citizens of Mexico and had previously been ordered removed from the United States. Garcia Faustino and Santiago-Baltazar now face a maximum penalty of 2 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the cooperation exhibited by Homeland Security, Border Patrol, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, and the City of Gautier Police Department in making the arrests. Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.
Garcia Faustino and Santiago-Baltazar are scheduled to be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. on June 6, 2019. They also face removal from the United States following the completion of any prison sentence.
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Key Facts
- State: Mississippi
- Category: Human Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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