ICE arrests twice-deported criminal illegal alien with prior felony hit-and-run conviction linked to death of US Marine

NEWARK, N.J. - Despite his deportation after a 2017 felony conviction in Maryland for a deadly automotive offense that killed a U.S. Marine, Martin Martinez-Ballinas, 38, of Mexico, brazenly and unlawfully reentered the United States twice. This criminal illegal alien is now back in ICE custody and facing his third deportation from the United States. ICE took custody of Martinez on July 22 from federal prison at Fort Dix, New Jersey, where he was serving time for illegally re-entering the United States after a previous deportation.

"Martinez-Ballinas repeatedly and flagrantly disregarded the laws of the United States and faces deportation for the third time," said ERO Newark Acting Field Office Director Arthur J. Wilson, Jr. "His conviction for an automotive offense that resulted in the tragic loss of a U.S. Marine in 2017 demonstrates a complete lack of respect for human life and our legal system. Anyone who believes violations of U.S. immigration law are trivial or inconsequential should take note: Federal offenses carry serious consequences, and we will continue to enforce the law to protect our communities and honor those who serve our nation."

After completing his sentence for his 2017 conviction, Martinez -Ballinas was removed from the United States in 2020 and attempted to illegally reenter the following year. In 2021, U.S. Border Patrol arrested Martinez-Ballinas trying to cross the southern border in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. He was convicted of illegal reentry in the Southern District of Texas and sentenced to 15 months in prison. Undeterred, ICE removed Martinez-Ballinas a second time in October 2022. Due to the Biden administration's open border debacle, Martinez -Ballinas was able to illegally enter the United States again completely undetected. ICE ultimately apprehended Martinez -Ballinas in Maryland in December 2023.

Martinez remains in ICE custody in New Jersey pending his third removal from the United States.