Mexican National Sentenced for Illegally Reentering the United States Following a Prior Felony Conviction

Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced Martin Martinez-Ballinas, 38, a citizen and national of Mexico, to 37 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for illegally reentering the United States following a felony conviction.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Acting Field Office Director Nikita Baker, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), Baltimore Field Office. Martinez-Ballinas previously pled guilty in January 2025. 

According to the court filings, Martinez-Ballinas had been deported from the United States two previous times. In 2017, prior to his first deportation, Martinez-Ballinas was convicted in the state of Maryland of a felony automative offense stemming from a traffic accident that killed an off-duty Marine. Following his sentence in that case, Martinez-Ballinas was deported in 2020.

After his initial deportation, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended Martinez-Ballinas for attempting to cross the southern border into Texas in 2021. He was subsequently convicted of his first illegal reentry offense in the Southern District of Texas and sentenced to 15 months in prison.  Following this sentence, in October 2022, Martinez-Ballinas was deported to Mexico a second time. In December 2023, Martinez-Ballinas knowingly and intentionally reentered the U.S. and then was apprehended by ICE in Maryland.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended ICE-ERO for its work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Department of Justice Trial Attorney Christopher Ting and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Rosenthal who prosecuted the case. 

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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