Maryland State Wire

Edwin Armando Sanchez-Montiel, a 33-year-old from El Salvador, has pled guilty to illegally re-entering the United States after a previous felony conviction for accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. The announcement was made by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Nikita Baker, Acting Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) in Baltimore.

Court documents reveal that Sanchez-Montiel initially entered the U.S. near Hidalgo, Texas in October 2006 but was apprehended by Border Patrol. Despite being ordered removed by an immigration judge in February 2007, he failed to appear at his hearing.

In January 2023, Sanchez-Montiel was arrested on charges related to accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and received a five-year prison sentence with all but 18 months suspended. After serving his sentence, ICE deported him back to El Salvador in early 2024.

Sanchez-Montiel later re-entered the U.S. without inspection and was detained again by ICE officers in Montgomery County, Maryland on July 27. He had not obtained permission from either the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security for re-entry into the country.

U.S. Attorney Hayes praised ICE-ERO's investigative efforts and acknowledged Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke Oki and Joel Crespo for their work on this case.

The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations while safeguarding communities from violent crime.

Sentencing is set for November 26 at 10 a.m.

For more information about resources available through the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, visit justice.gov/usao-md or justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.