Repeat Border Crosser Caught in Montana, Sentenced for Illegal Reentry
This marks the fourth time Odilon Valdes-De Jesus had been caught sneaking into America illegally.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sentenced this week an illegal immigrant found in Montana to time served and handed him over to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to undergo the deportation process.
Odilon Valdes-De Jesus, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty in May to one count of illegal reentry. The 55-year-old has been caught illegally entering America four times since 2019.
According to court documents, Valdes-De Jesus was caught three times sneaking into America illegally in 2019. In these attempts to sneak into America, he was caught by law enforcement shortly after each attempt.
However, in 2020, the fourth time was the charm for the foreign national, who was able to get into America without detection.
Two months ago, in Havre, law enforcement encountered Valdes-De Jesus, where he admitted he was in the United States illegally. He told law enforcement that he snuck into America through Eagle Pass, Texas.
Valdes-De Jesus is not the only Mexican national who has been picked up in Montana this year.
Law enforcement has arrested numerous illegal immigrants from Mexico in the Highline area in 2025. Earlier this month, the DOJ announced the sentences of three Mexican nationals: Francisco Alcocer-Sanchez, Luis Alberto Vega-Lili and Jose Luz Rojas-Flores.
Alcocer-Sanchez was caught in Fairview and pleaded guilty to one count of use or possession of a fraudulent immigration document. He had previously been granted status as a lawful permanent resident in 1991, but seven years later, this status was revoked after he was convicted of importing cocaine.
Vega-Lili pleaded guilty to the same crime as Alcocer-Sanchez. He was picked up in Havre after admitting to law enforcement that he was in the country illegally. Law enforcement searched his cell and found a fake Social Security card and a fraudulent permanent resident card.
Rojas-Flores also got caught in Havre, where law enforcement encountered him at a traffic stop with four other men who did not speak English. All these men presented Mexican identification cards to law enforcement. Rojas-Flores was previously removed from America three times in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
He had been in America illegally since 2020. The Mexican national pleaded guilty to the same crime as Valdes-De Jesus.
All three of these men received a sentence of time served and were handed over to CBP to be deported back to Mexico.
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Zachery Schmidt is the founder of The Montana Chronicles. If you have any tips, please send them to montanachronicles@proton.me.