Yellowhammer Times

Two Honduran nationals, Hermes Castillo, 44, and Miguel Alvarado-Villanueva, 36, were sentenced this week in Mobile, Alabama for illegally reentering the United States after previous deportations. Their cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at addressing illegal immigration.

Court documents show that Castillo and Alvarado-Villanueva were stopped by Elberta Police Department officers during a traffic stop on May 29, 2025. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was notified and arrested both men after determining their unlawful presence in the country. Both had previously been deported three times each. Castillo also had prior convictions for possession of cocaine under Florida law and illegal reentry in 2012.

Both defendants received sentences of time served and one year of supervised release if not deported. They had remained in custody since their arrests on May 29. Upon release from prison, they were ordered transferred to immigration officials for deportation proceedings.

Other recent prosecutions under Operation Take Back America included Miguel Castro-Gonzales of Mexico and Albert Marel Padilla-Castro of Honduras. Castro-Gonzales was arrested by Summerdale Police for public intoxication and resisting arrest on May 18, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) confirming his prior three deportations. Padilla-Castro was encountered by Saraland Police during a traffic stop on May 6; U.S. Border Patrol determined he had been previously removed twice.

In August, Antonio Flores from Mexico, Ali Torres-Barahona from Honduras, and Jorge Magana-Cartagena from El Salvador were also sentenced for illegal reentry. Flores was initially arrested for DUI by Foley Police in September 2023 but released under a false name; ICE/ERO later identified him as having been deported twice before federal agents arrested him again in June 2025. Torres-Barahona was apprehended by Mobile Police for organized retail theft on June 8; ICE/ERO determined he had been deported three times. Magana-Cartagena was found during a worksite enforcement operation in Foley on June 16; HSI agents discovered two prior deportations.

All defendants received sentences of time served following their federal charges and were ordered to be transferred to immigration authorities upon release for further deportation proceedings. Each defendant must pay $100 in special assessments.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello announced the sentencing decisions.

The investigations involved several agencies: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), along with state and local police departments including Elberta, Summerdale, Saraland, Foley, and Mobile.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin D. Kopf prosecuted these cases.

"Operation Take Back America aim includes the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protecting our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime," according to the announcement by U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello.

"In addition to repelling the invasion of illegal immigration, the Operation Take Bank America initiative is committed to leveraging Department of Justice resources to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."