Two Mexican nationals have been sentenced to prison for illegally reentering the United States after multiple deportations, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney David Metcalf.
David Gonzalez-Castillo, 47, received a two-year prison sentence from United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro. After serving his sentence, he will be removed from the United States again. Gonzalez-Castillo had previously been deported four times in 2009 following encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Texas and the U.S. Border Patrol in Arizona.
In October 2024, ICE learned that Gonzalez-Castillo had been arrested by the Coatesville Police Department in Pennsylvania. ICE took him into custody in March of this year after he was convicted of simple assault in Chester County Court of Common Pleas. He was charged by federal indictment with illegal reentry in April and pleaded guilty in May.
Saul Lopez Rodriguez, 32, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joshua D. Wolson to six months in prison for illegal reentry. He also faces removal from the country upon completion of his sentence. Lopez Rodriguez had been deported four times before: twice in 2012 and once each in 2013 and 2016 after being encountered by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Arizona and New Mexico. In March 2016, he pleaded guilty to illegal reentry charges in New Mexico and was removed from the country a month later.
In July 2024, ICE became aware that Lopez Rodriguez had been arrested by Norristown Police Department for reckless driving; he pleaded guilty to that charge. He was taken into custody by ICE during a traffic stop this June, charged with illegal reentry in July, and pleaded guilty that same month while waiving prosecution by indictment.
“These cases are 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 (TCOs), 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 (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).”
The investigations were conducted by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, while Assistant United States Attorneys Francis Weber and Erica Kivitz prosecuted both cases.
