KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican National illegally residing in Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced in federal court today for Illegal Re-entry by an Alien.
Gilberto Javana-Zuniga, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven Bough to one year and one day imprisonment in federal prison without parole followed by one year of supervised release.
On July 8, 2025, North Kansas City Police Department officers saw the defendant rummaging through trash bins in a business area. Upon contacting the defendant, Officers determined he was driving a van which had been reported stolen. Javana-Zuniga gave officers a false name. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents identified Javana-Zuniga was illegally in the United States after having been removed three times before – once in 2011 and twice in 2013.
Javana-Zuniga had been convicted of misdemeanor battery in 2011 and had six pending cases for theft, driving under the influence, driving without a license, and displaying license plates of another.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Mahoney. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Operation Take Back America
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.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Western District of Missouri — U.S. Department of Justice press release.