Bernabe Montalvo Salas, a 24-year-old Mexican citizen residing illegally in Charleston, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on September 10, 2025, to the charge of reentry of a removed alien. He was sentenced to time served and will be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) administrative custody for removal proceedings.
Court documents state that law enforcement encountered Salas in South Charleston on March 28, 2025. ICE agents determined that Salas was in the United States illegally and had previously been deported. He did not possess any identification granting him legal status.
Salas was first removed from the United States to Mexico on or about March 4, 2019, after being found near Roma, Texas earlier that month. He did not obtain permission from the Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security to reapply for admission following his prior removals.
Two brothers of Salas were also found living illegally in Charleston by ICE agents. Maximino Montalvo Salas, age 20, was deported after pleading guilty on July 24, 2025, to knowingly possessing a fraudulent Permanent Resident Card. Federico Montalvo Salas, age 22, pleaded guilty on July 1, 2025, to reentry of a removed alien and is scheduled for sentencing on October 23, 2025. ICE has placed an immigration detainer on Federico Montalvo Salas as well.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced the case and commended the work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearing and imposed the sentence,” according to the announcement. “Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted the case, as part of a special unit within the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia focused on the immigration enforcement objectives of Operation Take Back America.”
Operation Take Back America is described as a nationwide initiative involving resources from various Department of Justice programs aimed at addressing illegal immigration and related criminal activity.
Further information about this case can be found by searching Case No. 2:25-cr-81 on PACER.
