Jackson, Miss. – A Mexican National was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for illegal reentry by a removed alien, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Rirearms and Explosives.

According to court documents, Marco Antonio Aviles-Aviles, 35,was arrested by officers of the Scott County Sheriff’s Office after a traffic stop on Interstate 20 in June, 2021.  Aviles-Aviles could only produce a Mexican passport as a form of identification.  Further investigation determined that Aviles-Aviles had been previously deported, on two prior occasions, after illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the United States.  After a citizen of a foreign country has been removed from the United States it is unlawful for them to return to the United States without the permission of the United States Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Aviles-Aviles pled guilty on February 17, 2022, to illegal reentry after removal.

The Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the ATF, and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Kirkham prosecuted the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.