NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JINGUI LIN (“ LIN “) of China was sentenced on February 11, 2026, after previously pleading guilty to being in possession of a fraudulent passport, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1546(a). U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced LIN to the jail time he had already served since his custodial detention began on October 28, 2025, announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle. LIN will remain in immigration custody pending his deportation.
According to court documents, on October 28, 2025, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Officers encountered LIN and determined that he was Entry Without Inspection, or “EWI”, status and eligible to be taken into immigration custody. While taking him into custody, Officers found a fraudulent Chinese passport in LIN ’s possession. The passport contained LIN ’s photograph but a different name. The fraudulent passport also contained a fraudulent United States visa and a fraudulent CBP admission stamp. LIN was not in possession of proper immigration documents allowing him to enter or remain in the United States legally.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant United States Attorney Christine M. Calogero of the General Crimes Unit is handling the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Eastern District of Louisiana — U.S. Department of Justice press release.