Illegal Alien from Mexico Found Living in Kanawha County Pleads Guilty and Is Sentenced for Federal Fraud Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Rufino Hernandez, 26, a Mexican national living illegally in Nitro, pleaded guilty today to fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents and sentenced to time served. Hernandez is subject to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer 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 Hernandez working there. Investigators determined that Hernandez used a counterfeit Immigration Form I-551, also known as a Permanent Resident Card or Green Card, to obtain employment at the restaurant from on or about September 17, 2025, to on or about January 16, 2026.

Hernandez 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. 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. Three of the other indicted illegal aliens pleaded guilty, were sentenced to time served, and were subject to removal proceedings. The indictments against Miguel Aguirre-Arello Sr., Miguel Angel Aguirre, and the remaining illegal alien defendants 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.

The January 16, 2026, search warrant was executed as part of Operation Country Roads. The immigration enforcement operation was conducted by ICE with state and local law enforcement partners and resulted in 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 Attorney Jonathan T. Storage prosecuted the case, as part of a special unit within the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia focused on the immigration enforcement objectives of Operation Take Back America.

Operation Take Back America is 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-15.

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