A Mexican citizen residing in Milford, Texas without legal status has been indicted for illegally reentering the United States, according to an announcement from Jay R. Combs, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
Pedro Campuzano-Orozco, 51, was charged by a federal grand jury this week with illegal reentry after deportation. The indictment states that Campuzano-Orozco was found within the Eastern District of Texas following his prior removal from the country.
If convicted, he could face up to two years in federal prison and subsequent deportation.
The case falls under Operation Take Back America, an initiative led by the Department of Justice aiming to combat illegal immigration and dismantle criminal organizations involved in transnational crime. According to the release, “Operation Take Back America 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.”
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Forest Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Jackson is prosecuting the case.
Authorities emphasized that an indictment is not evidence of guilt: “All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” according to the statement.
