A 37-year-old Mexican national identified as Eduardo Aguilera-Gallardo has been convicted for reentering the country without authorization. Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck announced the update, stating that the jury spent 30 minutes reviewing the case before finding him guilty. This is one of the many cases under Operation Take Back America aimed at combating illegal immigration.

According to the press release issued by the Attorney’s Office, court evidence shows that Eduardo Aguilera-Gallardo became a lawful permanent resident in 2001 but later lost his citizenship and was deported from the United States in 2025. A deportation officer revealed that he accompanied the defendant across the international boundary in Laredo to be returned to Mexico. He was also identified as the same person in different deportation materials through a fingerprint examiner.

The testimony shows that on April 21, 2025, authorities found the defendant in Houston with no authorization to be in the United States. The jury was told that he had neither reported any threats nor claims of kidnapping at the time, nor sought assistance. Nevertheless, the defense claimed before the jury that Gallardo was abducted at the Mexican border upon his return to Mexico and was held for ransom.

It has also been alleged that his family paid the extortion and kidnappers threatened him to return to the United States. On the other hand, testimony and evidence confirm that neither the defendant nor his family sought any help from the law enforcement in either country. The press note on justice.gov also notes that he never reported the alleged kidnapping to authorities once he came back to America.

In view of the above observations, the jury rejected the defense and held the defendant guilty as charged. The trial was presided over by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake and is now set for sentencing on Aug. 7. Gallardo reportedly faces a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a potential fine of up to $250,000. He has been in custody and will remain there until the pending hearing.

The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Hostetter and Ekua Assabill are handling the prosecution.

It was just on May 18, 2026 that an official press release confirmed that a 27-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after previously being deported. He reportedly had six aliases across five states before being caught.

Amid a surge in illegal entries into the United States, President Donald Trump on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, signed an executive order that requires banks to review their customers’ citizenship closely. According to the Associated Press, the order aims at tracking down unauthorized immigrants living in the country.

In the order, the White House has asserted that the goal is to combat potential risks to the financial system “posed by the extension of credit or financial services to the inadmissible and removable alien population.” It also requires banks and government agencies to monitor whether individuals without legal status are accessing banking services, such as accounts, loans, or credit cards.