Illegal Alien from Guatemala Pleads Guilty to Illegally Reentering the US After Prior Removal

BANGOR, Maine: A Guatemalan national pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to reentering the United States after a prior removal.

According to court records, on March 12, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol Agents in Franklin County were driving near Stratton when they observed a white box truck heading north towards the U.S.­Canadian border. Elmer Enrique Ramirez-Ardon, 33, was in the truck's passenger seat. After observing the truck and its occupants, the agents suspected it contained aliens. They stopped the truck after it reversed direction and began travelling south towards the interior of the state.

During a subsequent roadside immigration inspection, agents determined that the truck's two occupants were, in fact, aliens without lawful authority to be in the country. They were transported to the Rangeley Border Patrol Station for processing, at which time agents determined that Ramirez-Ardon, a citizen of Guatemala, had been ordered deported and removed from the country in 2014.

Ramirez-Ardon faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.

Operation Take Back America: 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.

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