U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that Luis Castro Mayancela, a 24-year-old Ecuadorian citizen, has pleaded guilty to re-entering the United States after being previously removed. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo, who sentenced Mayancela to time served. Following the sentencing, Mayancela was handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sasha Mascarenhas provided details on the case, stating that in April 2019, Mayancela was arrested by United States Border Patrol agents in Palo Pinto County, Texas due to his lack of legal status in the country. He was subsequently removed from the United States in December 2019. On March 26, 2025, authorities found him again in Genesee County during a vehicle stop conducted by Department of Homeland Security agents; he did not possess any documents permitting his legal presence in the United States.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America, an initiative aiming to utilize all resources of the Department of Justice to address illegal immigration issues and combat cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime.
The investigation leading to this plea and sentencing was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations under Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan’s direction and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Emergency Removal Operations led by Acting Field Office Director Steven Kurzdorfer.
