Mario Lopez-Martinez, Illegal Reentry, Florida 2023

A 33-year-old man from Mexico has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for illegal reentry into the United States.

Mario Lopez-Martinez, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegal reentry into the United States. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Lopez-Martinez departed the United States in 2017 after an Immigration Judge entered an Order of Removal. He illegally returned to the United States two additional times in 2019 and 2020. The defendant was convicted of Driving Under the Influence in 2022 in Gadsden County and Fleeing from a Law Enforcement Officer and Resisting without Violence in 2026.

“Repeated illegal reentry into the United States is a serious offense, and those who disregard court orders and federal statutes will be held accountable,” said Homeland Security Investigations Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “Protecting the integrity of our immigration system is essential to public safety and the rule of law.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Eric W. Welch prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.

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