Press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A 25-year-old Mexican national who was previously deported has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of illegally reentering the United States, U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin announced.
Prosecutors identified the defendant as Pablo Gomez-Sarmiento. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Gomez-Sarmiento was found in Alachua County in February 2025 after having been removed from the country in 2020.
Heekin said his office intends to aggressively prosecute immigration violations, arguing that residents of the Northern District of Florida expect federal authorities to enforce the nation’s border and immigration laws.
Gomez-Sarmiento is scheduled to go to trial July 22, 2026, in Gainesville before Chief U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of two years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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.
