An Ecuadorian national, William Ariel Tamay Guaman, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to illegally reentering the United States after being previously removed. The plea was made following an incident on February 4, 2025, where agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and the FBI conducted surveillance and conducted a traffic stop in South Portland.
Court records indicate that Tamay Guaman provided a false name during the stop, briefly fled on foot, and resisted arrest before being taken into custody. He was positively identified through fingerprints.
Tamay Guaman previously entered the United States in or before 2019. In March 2023, he was charged in the Cumberland County Unified Criminal Docket with two counts of reckless conduct involving a minor for offenses occurring between 2020 and 2021. He was convicted, receiving a sentence of 364 days imprisonment, followed by another fully suspended 364 days and probation. An immigration judge ordered his removal from the country, and he was deported in September 2023.
Tamay Guaman now faces a potential maximum prison term of two years and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing will occur after a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The investigation was carried out by ICE-ERO with support from the FBI and is part of Operation Take Back America. The initiative aims to address illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime perpetrators.
"Operation Take Back America is 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," states the agency. The operation utilizes resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).