Illegal Alien from Honduras Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced for Federal Immigration Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Pablo Dominguez, also known as "Pablo Dominguez Dominguez," 40, a Honduran national living illegally in Nitro, pleaded guilty today to reentry of a removed alien and was sentenced to time served. Dominguez will be subject to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer for his transfer to ICE administrative custody for removal proceedings.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 16, 2026, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in Nitro and encountered Dominguez working there. ICE agents confirmed that Dominguez is a citizen of Honduras in the United States illegally and that he had previously been deported from the United States on August 25, 2017, after he was found in Dunbar, West Virginia, on July 18, 2017. Dominguez had no identification documents permitting him legal status in the United States. Dominguez never obtained the express consent of the Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States for either of the prior removals, nor did he seek to reenter the United States through other legal means.

Dominguez is among six illegal aliens indicted following the execution of the January 16, 2026, search warrant, each on charges alleging they were working at the restaurant without legal status. Four of the other defendants pleaded guilty to fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents and were sentenced to time served with ICE immigration detainers pending.

Restaurant owner Miguel Aguirre-Arello Sr., 65, and his son, manager Miguel Angel Aguirre, 43, both of Nitro, were indicted on charges alleging each harbored aliens, while aiding and abetting each other, and aided and abetted fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents. The indictments against Miguel Aguirre-Arello Sr., Miguel Angel Aguirre, and the remaining illegal alien defendant are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

These cases are the result of Operation Country Roads. The operation was conducted by ICE with state and local law enforcement partners. According to ICELinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link., the January 2026 immigration enforcement operation yielded over 650 arrests throughout West Virginia.

United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), the Nitro Police Department, and the St. Albans Police Department.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing and imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan T. Storage and Jennifer D. Gordon prosecuted the case.

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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 2:26-cr-13.

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