Three Mexican nationals have pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and were sentenced to time served in federal court, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York.
Erasmo Perez Ruiz, 30, Luis Gerardo Perez Lopez, 29, and Ismael Ivan Perez Lopez, 27, all citizens of Mexico, entered their pleas before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. Following sentencing, the three men were transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sasha Mascarenhas stated that on September 30, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol agents attempted to stop a vehicle carrying the defendants in Amherst, New York. “As agents approached the vehicle with emergency lights and sirens activated, the driver, Erasmo Perez Ruiz, fled at a high rate of speed. After a brief chase, the vehicle pulled into a retail parking lot and the three defendants exited the vehicle and ran into a wooded area but were quickly apprehended,” Mascarenhas said.
Further investigation revealed that Erasmo Perez Ruiz had been removed from the United States twice in April 2014; Luis Gerardo Perez Lopez was removed in May 2018; and Ismael Ivan Perez Lopez was removed in May 2017.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America. According to the press release: “This case is 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.”
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Border Patrol under Patrol Agent-in-Charge David Banks.
