ILLINOIS – Nine people are facing federal immigration-related offenses in the Southern District of Illinois. 

Most of them are accused of being back in the country illegally after being deported previously. 

In November, in O’Fallon, Illinois, police picked up Erick Roman-Roman under suspicion of DUI. Court records say his blood alcohol concentration was 0.196. 

Now, he is one of nine people in southern Illinois facing a federal charge.  

“What we’re doing is we’re working backwards trying to identify individuals who are either repeat offenders or those who present the biggest risk of harm to the public or are the most dangerous; really triaging those people,” said Steven Weinhoeft, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. 

In federal court, Roman-Roman is facing one count of Illegal Reentry after Deportation. 

Investigators say he has been deported multiple times but re-entered the country illegally. Court documents say that in 2019, he tried to enter the U.S. by wading the Rio Grande River. 

“We have fast-track procedures that are available for individuals who have committed relatively minor offenses when they were picked back up. Those folks, the primary emphasis is on removing them from the country quickly and efficiently,” Weinhoeft said. 

The other suspects include Josue Lopez-Serrano, Angel Carmona-Perez, Gaspar Lux-Lopez, Pedro Ramos-Garcia, Andres Jimenez-Santiago and Jose Ariza-Angula, who are all facing a count of illegal reentry. 

Another suspect, Luis Morocho-Minga, is facing a charge of Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm. 

“In our particular office, we’re up over 200% in prosecutions year to date this year compared to where we were last year,” Weinhoeft said regarding immigration-related cases in his district. 

On top of these federal charges, the suspects are also susceptible to deportation proceedings.