Three illegal aliens, who each returned after removal multiple times and committed other crimes, sentenced in federal court

Seattle - Three men were sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle for repeatedly returning to the U.S. after being removed and committing other crimes while here, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Defendant Marlon Arteaga-Calix, 42, a citizen of Honduras, was given a two-year sentence for illegally returning after removal. He was arrested while trying to flee from authorities at Joint Base Lewis McChord and leading police on a footrace across I-5. When arrested Arteaga-Calix had fentanyl in his possession.

At his sentencing hearing on Tuesday August 25^th, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said, "Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous substance and triggers a pattern that people die… I need to protect the public from further crimes of this defendant because of what he does when he returns to the U.S."

According to records filed in the case, this is Arteaga-Calix' fourth federal prison sentence for returning after removal. He has been sentenced to prison for that crime in Oregon, Utah, and Colorado. He has been removed from the U.S. in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2018, and 2021. After returning he has convictions for multiple drug offenses involving cocaine, crack cocaine, and fentanyl. He also was convicted of an assault on a health care worker. Arteaga-Calix will likely be removed following his prison term.

On Monday August 24, 2026, Dimas Alexander Mejia Garah, 35, a citizen of Honduras was sentenced to time-served for his return after removal. Garah will now be returned to the custody of Snohomish County where he faces 40 months in prison for being arrested in connection with drug trafficking.

Mejia Garah has been removed from the U.S. in 2009, twice in 2012, in 2014, and again in 2023. Mejia Garah was found in Snohomish County in 2025 when law enforcement served a search warrant at his residence. Mejia Garah has twice been convicted in Utah of trafficking narcotics and had another drug possession conviction in Colorado. At the time of his arrest in Snohomish County, there was a warrant for Mejia Garah's arrest in California. Following his prison sentence in the drug case, Mejia Garah will likely be removed to Honduras again.

And finally, today, Yair Ramirez Aguilar, 32, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced to time served for returning after removal. Ramirez Aguilar has illegally re-entered the U.S. four times after being removed. In November 2019 he attempted to enter the U.S. at Douglas, Arizona using someone else's identification. He was convicted of illegal entry and removed. Twelve days later he was caught attempting to enter at Calexico, California, and was removed. In February 2020 and March 2020, he was caught again attempting to enter at Calexico and was removed both times.

Over the last five years, Ramirez Aguilar has been repeatedly arrested for a variety of criminal offenses. In 2021 he was arrested by the Burien Police Department for DUI and Negligent Driving - First Degree. In 2022 and 2023 he had arrests for Physical Control of Vehicle Under the Influence, DUI, and Hit and Run Attended Vehicle. He was convicted in 2025. He has a pending DUI charge from 2026. He also has pending domestic violence assault charges from arrests in 2024 and 2025.

In imposing the time served sentence Judge Lauren King said, "You have been repeatedly removed from the U.S., but your brief time here has been marked by repeated crimes."

"Each of these cases take federal resources and court time because sanctuary policies in Washington prohibits cooperation with immigration enforcement," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. "But for our intervention, the public would never know about the immigration history of these defendants, and they would have been released back into the community, to sell drugs, drive drunk, or commit assaults just as they did before we were able to get them into custody."

Each of these cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (HSI-ICE).