(WNY News Now) – BUFFALO, N.Y. – Three men have been arrested and charged in separate criminal complaints for immigration-related offenses, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced.
Hector Noel Soto-Villalta, 29, a citizen of Honduras, is charged with illegal reentry after deportation with a prior felony conviction, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years. Isaias Fernando Diego-Lucas, 39, a citizen of Guatemala, faces illegal reentry charges, which could result in up to two years in prison. Manuel Juan Mateo, 52, also from Guatemala, is charged with possessing a counterfeit alien resident card, with a potential 10-year sentence.
The arrests followed a targeted enforcement operation on February 24, 2025, conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Dunkirk, N.Y. ICE agents stopped a vehicle and questioned its occupants. A records check revealed Soto-Villalta had been deported three times, Diego-Lucas was in the country illegally, and Mateo possessed a fraudulent permanent resident card.
All three defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and were detained. The case remains under investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and ICE ERO.
Charges are accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Leave a Reply