SEATTLE, Wash. — Federal judges sentenced three men this week after prosecutors said they repeatedly returned to the United States following removal and committed additional crimes.
The defendants include two men with prior drug trafficking convictions and a third with multiple DUI-related arrests and pending domestic violence assault charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Fourth Federal Sentence for Illegal Reentry
U.S. District Judge James L. Robart sentenced Marlon Arteaga-Calix, 42, of Honduras, to two years in federal prison Tuesday for illegally returning to the United States after removal.
Authorities arrested Arteaga-Calix after he allegedly fled from law enforcement at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and led officers on a foot chase across Interstate 5. Officers found fentanyl in his possession when they arrested him, according to prosecutors.
During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Robart cited the danger fentanyl poses and said he needed to protect the public from further crimes by Arteaga-Calix.
Court records show this marked Arteaga-Calix’s fourth federal prison sentence for illegal reentry. Courts in Oregon, Utah and Colorado previously sentenced him for the same offense.
Immigration officials removed Arteaga-Calix from the United States in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2021, according to federal prosecutors.
After returning to the country, courts convicted him of multiple drug offenses involving cocaine, crack cocaine and fentanyl. He also received a conviction for assaulting a health care worker.
Prosecutors said immigration officials will likely remove Arteaga-Calix again after he completes his federal sentence.
Drug Trafficking Case Leads to Snohomish County Custody
U.S. District Judge James L. Robart sentenced Dimas Alexander Mejia Garah, 35, of Honduras, to time served Monday for illegally returning to the United States after removal.
Snohomish County authorities will take custody of Mejia Garah, who faces a 40-month prison sentence in a separate case involving drug trafficking.
Immigration officials removed Mejia Garah from the United States in 2009, twice in 2012, in 2014 and again in 2023, according to prosecutors.
Law enforcement officers found him in Snohomish County in 2025 while serving a search warrant at his residence.
Utah courts convicted Mejia Garah twice of narcotics trafficking. A Colorado court also convicted him of drug possession.
Authorities also had a warrant from California for his arrest when officers arrested him in Snohomish County.
Prosecutors said immigration officials will likely remove Mejia Garah to Honduras again after he completes his sentence in the Snohomish County drug case.
DUI and Domestic Violence Charges
U.S. District Judge Lauren King sentenced Yair Ramirez Aguilar, 32, of Mexico, to time served Wednesday for illegally returning to the United States after removal.
Ramirez Aguilar illegally reentered the country four times after immigration officials removed him, according to prosecutors.
In November 2019, authorities said Ramirez Aguilar attempted to enter the United States at Douglas, Arizona, using another person’s identification. A court convicted him of illegal entry, and immigration officials removed him.
Twelve days later, authorities caught him attempting to enter the country at Calexico, California. Immigration officials removed him again.
Authorities caught Ramirez Aguilar attempting to enter at Calexico again in February and March 2020. Immigration officials removed him after both incidents.
Ramirez Aguilar also accumulated multiple arrests for driving offenses during the following years.
The Burien Police Department arrested him in 2021 for DUI and first-degree negligent driving. Police arrested him again in 2022 and 2023 on allegations involving physical control of a vehicle while under the influence, DUI and hit-and-run involving an attended vehicle.
A court convicted Ramirez Aguilar in 2025. He also faces a pending DUI charge from 2026 and pending domestic violence assault charges stemming from arrests in 2024 and 2025.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, King said Ramirez Aguilar had faced repeated removal from the United States, while his time in the country included repeated criminal offenses.
Prosecutor Cites Washington Sanctuary Policies
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said the three cases consumed federal resources and court time because, he said, Washington sanctuary policies limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“Each of these cases take federal resources and court time because sanctuary policies in Washington prohibits cooperation with immigration enforcement.”
Neil Floyd, First Assistant U.S. Attorney
“Each of these cases take federal resources and court time because sanctuary policies in Washington prohibits cooperation with immigration enforcement,” Floyd said.
Floyd said federal intervention brought the defendants’ immigration histories to light and prevented their immediate release into the community.
Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office has defended the state’s sanctuary policy in past responses to federal pressure, saying the law “appropriately and lawfully limits the diversion of state and local resources to federal immigration enforcement” and does not violate federal law. Ferguson has said the policy reflects the state’s values in “protecting hardworking Washingtonians who are abiding by our state laws.”
Homeland Security Investigations, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investigated all three cases.
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