JACKSONVILLE, FL—A 61-year-old Mexican national, Maria Del Carmen Sobarso-Gonzalez, has been sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States, as confirmed in a U.S. Department of Justice report. U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger handed down the sentence after Sobarso-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to the charge on November 1, 2024.

Following a tip earlier this year that Sobarso-Gonzalez was residing in Jacksonville and despite having been previously removed from the U.S. three times, law enforcement conducted surveillance operations on various locations known to be associated with her. During her time in the U.S., Sobarso-Gonzalez was previously convicted of a felony for reentering the country illegally after deportation. The arrest came after, Sobarso-Gonzalez had moved into these surveilled Jacksonville locales.

The case, stemming from these surveillance efforts by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, led to the recent sentencing. Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Milliron took charge of the prosecution efforts that concluded with Sobarso-Gonzalez's guilty plea and subsequent sentencing.