CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Four Mexican nationals have been ordered detained following their arrests in the Southern District of West Virginia, Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced last week.
Maximino Montalvo Salas, 20, Federico Montalvo Salas, 22, and Bernabe Montalvo Salas, 24, are each charged with illegally reentering the United States.
Julio Cesar Ruiz-Perez, 21, is charged with deceptive use of a Social Security account number.
United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn ordered the detention of all four men following their initial appearance, preliminary, and detention hearings.
According to investigators, law enforcement officers interviewed the three Salas defendants on March 28, 2025, at the South Charleston restaurant where they were employed.
Officers determined all three were in the United States illegally.
Further investigation revealed that each had previously been deported, lacked proper identification or authorization for legal presence, had not received consent from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to reapply for admission, and had not reentered the country through legal means.
On April 11, 2025, officers executed a search warrant at the South Charleston residence where the Salas defendants were living and encountered Ruiz-Perez.
Investigators determined he was in the country illegally and was using a Social Security number not assigned to him to gain employment.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a national Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling transnational criminal organizations, and reducing violent crime.
The operation brings together resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
“Operation Take Back America and its core enforcement objectives is a top priority of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia,” Johnston said.
“I commend U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Social Security Administration-Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG) for their investigative work in these cases.”
Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the cases as part of a special unit dedicated to Operation Take Back America’s immigration enforcement efforts.
