Mexican man sentenced for illegal reentry

GREAT FALLS - A Mexican man who was in the United States illegally was sentenced yesterday to a term of time-served and remanded to the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Leobardo Ricardo Torres-Torres, 38, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to illegal reentry.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The government alleged in court documents that Torres-Torres was removed from the United States in November 2016 and never obtained permission to return. On March 24, 2025, he was found in Havre, Montana when Border Patrol agents approached a vehicle registered to a person illegally present in the United States in the Walmart parking lot. An agent asked Torres-Torres if he owned the vehicle, and he admitted he did. He said was working construction in the area, was originally from Mexico, and had no documents that permitted him to enter or remain in the United States.

Torres-Torres's immigration files show he applied for U.S. citizenship in 2002 but presented a fraudulent birth certificate with his application. He was allowed to withdraw the application and return to Mexico. In July 2009, Torres-Torres was found in Arizona and ordered removed after an arrest in Maricopa County for driving while intoxicated. In July 2010, Border Patrol agents found Torres-Torres, again in Arizona. He was convicted of illegal entry, a misdemeanor, sentenced to 30 days in prison, and removed from the United States. In August 2016, Border Patrol agents in Naco, Arizona, found Torres-Torres. He was again convicted of illegal entry, sentenced to 75 days in prison, and again removed from the United States. When he was arrested in Havre in March 2025, Torres-Torres told the Border Patrol he reentered the U.S. in November 2017, near El Paso, Texas.

The United States Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the Border Patrol.

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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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