Six Repeat Offenders Face Justice for Illegal Reentry

GAINESVILLE & PENSACOLA, FL – The revolving door at the southern border continues to spin, and six individuals are now facing the consequences for repeatedly flouting U.S. immigration laws. U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin announced this week the convictions of six aliens illegally present in the country who were previously deported, and then brazenly attempted to re-enter.

The defendants, all facing federal charges for illegal reentry, represent a clear disregard for the law and a strain on already overburdened resources. Court records detail a pattern of repeated violations, with some individuals deported multiple times before attempting to slip back into the United States. The names of those convicted in August include: Wilson Omar Hernandez-Ramos (Honduran citizen, previously removed August 2018, encountered in Escambia County April 19, 2025); Noe Flores Vasquez (Honduran citizen, previously removed November 2013, November 2017, and May 2022, encountered in Alachua County July 17, 2025); and Juan Martinez-Hernandez (Mexican national, previously removed October 2017 and November 2022, encountered in Santa Rosa County April 11, 2025).

Also convicted were Maximo Solis-Xec (Guatemalan citizen, previously removed August 2018, encountered in Santa Rosa County May 21, 2025); Joel Coto-Mendoza (Honduran citizen, previously removed May 2023, encountered in Escambia County May 20, 2025); and Francis Cantor-Garcia (Honduran citizen, previously removed June 2014, November 2014, and January 2015, encountered in Escambia County July 19, 2025). Each faced charges related to knowingly entering the U.S. illegally after being previously removed.

U.S. Attorney Heekin didn’t mince words, stating: “Each of these offenders had been previously deported for illegally entering our country – some, multiple times – and each knowingly and intentionally violated our national immigration laws yet again because they thought they could get away with it. Wrong. My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting these crimes in fulfillment of the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America by making the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws a top priority.”

The investigations were a joint effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, bolstered by assistance from state and local law enforcement. Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Hapner, Jenna H. Callahan, Walter Narramore, Jeffrey M. Tharp, and Brooke DiSalvo spearheaded the prosecutions. This push is part of the larger “Operation Take Back America,” a nationwide initiative designed to aggressively address illegal immigration and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.

Operation Take Back America, drawing resources from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood, aims to not only repel illegal immigration but also to eliminate cartels and protect communities from violent crime. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, one of 94 nationwide, plays a key role in this effort. Public court documents can be accessed via the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. Further information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

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