Gulfport Man Indicted on Unlawful Reentry Charge

Gulfport, MS – A Gulfport man has pleaded guilty to Unlawful Reentry into the United States by a Deported or Removed Alien.

Pedro Aranda-Zaragoza, 49, of Mexico, entered his guilty plea on July 17, 2025, in federal district court.

Aranda-Zaragoza faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and will be sentenced on August 26, 2025. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Federal law also provides for Aranda-Zaragoza to face Homeland Security removal proceedings after serving any prison sentence.

Aranda-Zaragoza was arrested on April 24, 2025, as part of a Homeland Security Investigations review of employee documentation at the El Patron Mexican Grill in Vancleave, MS. During his arrest, Aranda-Zaragoza admitted to knowingly being an alien illegally present in the U.S. and to illegally returning after being lawfully removed from the United States.

A review of Aranda-Zaragoza’s prior immigration records revealed that a Final Order of Removal had been issued against him in 2012. He was arrested by immigration officials in August 2018 and physically removed from the United States to Mexico that same month. Aranda-Zaragoza had not received permission or consent to apply for readmission or to lawfully reenter the United States from either the US Attorney General or from the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon, praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations. Lemon and Eric P. DeLaune, Special Agent-in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris prosecuted the case.

The 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.

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