Palatine Man Indicted On Federal Re-Entry Charge After Prior Deportation

PALATINE, IL — A Palatine resident has been indicted in federal court in Chicago on a charge alleging he unlawfully re-entered the United States after a deportation, according to the indictment and statements made in court Tuesday.

An indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges Hector Daniel Gamboa-Mantalvo, 30, who is a Mexican national, with one count of unlawful re-entry after deportation and removal. Gamboa-Mantalvo pleaded not guilty during his arraignment. A status hearing is set for May 27.

Gamboa-Mantalvo and was removed from the United States in July 2020. During Tuesday's arraignment hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik K. Raman advised the court that Gamboa-Mantalvo was discovered in the United States in 2023 when he was arrested for committing an attempted vehicular hijacking in Palatine.

According to the court account provided at the hearing, he was convicted of that offense and has been serving a five-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections. While in pretrial custody in that case, he possessed a dangerous weapon in the Cook County Jail. He was later convicted of a weapons offense and sentenced to a concurrent term of four years in state custody.

Gamboa-Mantalvo waived his right to a detention hearing on the federal charge and has been ordered into federal custody. The unlawful re-entry charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the announcement. Defendants convicted of this offense are subject to deportation.

According to the announcement, the case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The announcement states that, among other priorities, the initiative uses available tools to prosecute and remove violent criminal noncitizens from the United States.