BUFFALO, N.Y. –U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that two Mexican nationals pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to re-entry of a removed alien. Ariel Benjamin Gregorio Santiago, 36, pleaded guilty and was then sentenced to serve four months in prison. Zeferino Marceliano Leon, 35, pleaded guilty, was sentenced to time served, and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Smith, who is handling the case, stated that on July 24, 2025, Border Patrol agents encountered Ariel Benjamin Gregorio Santiago and Zeferino Marceliano Leon. When questioned by agents, the two men confirmed that that they are citizens of Mexico, and not a national of the United States. Further investigation determined that Gregorio Santiago was previously removed from the United States in 2011 and twice in 2019, and Marceliano Leon was previously removed in 2011.

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.

The pleas and sentencings are the result of an investigation by U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent-in-Charge David Banks.    

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