Mexican national indicted in Louisiana for illegal reentry, false Social Security use

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — A federal grand jury has indicted a Mexican national on charges of illegally reentering the United States and providing a false Social Security number to authorities and a potential employer in Louisiana.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 53-year-old Edgar Javier Castillo-Rodriguez was charged with illegal reentry by a removed alien and two counts of false representation of a Social Security number. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment.

Court records show Castillo-Rodriguez was removed from the U.S. twice—once near Brownsville, Texas, in October 1996, and again near El Paso, Texas, in November 2000. He was most recently found in the U.S. on Oct. 29, 2024, without the consent of the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Authorities say Castillo-Rodriguez knowingly provided a Social Security number that had not been assigned to him on two occasions: once to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office in October 2024, and again to a potential employer in April 2023.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, Gonzales Police Department, Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Louisiana State Police.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy S. Johnson as part of “Operation Take Back America,” a Department of Justice initiative aimed at countering illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and reducing violent crime.

Editor’s Note: An indictment is a formal accusation by a grand jury. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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