Source: Office of United States Attorneys
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 44-year-old Mexican national with a felony criminal history and multiple prior removals has been sentenced once again for illegally reentering the United States without permission, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Juan Humberto Lara Molina pleaded guilty Feb. 13.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered Molina to serve 24 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is again expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. In imposing the sentence, the court noted that his criminal history raises serious concerns, stating that if he kept coming back, he would be spending much more time in prison.
Molina has a lengthy drug, weapons and immigration criminal history including two other illegal reentry convictions, one in 2007 and another in 2015. He was also convicted of dealing cocaine in Indiana and unlawful sale of firearms in Illinois. He has also been previously ordered removed from the United States on multiple occasions.
Authorities removed Molina most recently in November 2021. However, law enforcement discovered him at the Falfurrias Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint Dec. 12, 2024. He was one of seven individuals being transported farther north by human smugglers in a tractor-trailer.
Molina will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Young Min C. Burkett 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 and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.