Mexican man sentenced for illegal reentry

MISSOULA - A Mexican man who reentered the United States illegally was sentenced today to 18 months incarceration and 3 years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot said.

Baldemar Duarte-Nieto, 47, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of illegal reentry.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided.

The government alleged in court documents that on July 26, 2025, Duarte-Nieto was found by law enforcement in Kalispell after a short vehicle and foot pursuit. The pursuit reached 80 mph in a residential neighborhood and Duarte-Nieto struck a Toyota Camry filled with four people. A K-9 was deployed to apprehend him. Duarte-Nieto had an arrest warrant from Washington for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance - heroin.

Duarte-Nieto was first removed from the United States in 1996 or 1997, in 2000, and then a week later with a 20-year bar. He was last removed from the United States in November 2021 after an extensive hearing with an Immigration Judge because he used an assumed identity for approximately 20 years.

Duarte-Nieto's prior convictions include:

• 1996 assault with a weapon in Pacific County, Washington;
• 2002 carjacking in Claremont, California;
• 2006 conspiracy/bringing a controlled dangerous substance into a prison in Susanville, California; and
• 2012 false statements in the Western District of Washington.

There are no records within the Department of Homeland Security that Duarte-Nieto ever applied for readmission into the United States.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. Homeland Security Investigations, Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, and Flathead County Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation.

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.

XXX