Mexican man pleads guilty to illegal reentry

MISSOULA - A man from Mexico accused of being in the United States illegally admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, Daniel Yepez-Gaytan, 41, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry of a removed alien. Yepez-Gaytan faces 10 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto presided. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for December 10, 2025. Yepez-Gaytan was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that on April 23, 2025, Daniel Yepez-Gaytan, aka Daniel Guzman-Calderon, an alien and citizen of Mexico, who was last removed from the United States in November 2013, was found in Bozeman, Montana without having received express consent of the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States.

On April 23, 2025, law enforcement stopped a pickup truck driven by Daniel Yepez-Gaytan. He provided law enforcement with a Washington State driver's license. After querying government databases, law enforcement was able to determine that Yepez-Gaytan was a foreign national present in the United States illegally, with no claim to citizenship or documentation pending to support any claim to legal status.

Yepez-Gaytan confirmed his identity, nationality, illegal entry, previous removals, and his lack of application to the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of Homeland Security for permission to re-enter after his removals.

Yepez-Gaytan's alien registration file shows he was originally deported on July 30, 2004, through El Paso, Texas. He has three subsequent removals with the last removal date of November 14, 2013, through Laredo, Texas. Additionally, Yepez-Gaytan has two prior criminal convictions from 2011 for illegal entry and illegal reentry.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Missouri River Drug Task Force 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. 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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