URBANA, Ill. – A Salvadoran national, Edwin Bonilla Mendoza, 39, who previously resided in Kankakee County, Illinois, was sentenced on March 30, 2026, to 15 months of imprisonment for being a removed alien found in the United States and resisting a federal officer.At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Bonilla Mendoza had been removed from the United States in 2018 but returned. After that illegal return, he strangled a family member and was convicted of Aggravated Domestic Battery in Kankakee County Circuit Court in 2023. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in marked police uniforms located him in Kankakee County in June 2025 and apprehended him after he tried to flee from arrest.Also at the hearing, U.S. District Judge Colin S.
Bruce found that Bonilla Mendoza created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury while fleeing from ICE. He found that Bonilla Mendoza tried to drive away from agents and accelerated his vehicle into a police car twice before fleeing into a residential area.Bonilla Mendoza pleaded guilty to his offenses. It is anticipated that he will be removed from the United States at the conclusion of his sentence.The statutory penalties for being a removed alien found in the United States are up to two years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to one year of supervised release. In this case, resisting a federal officer carried penalties of up to one year of imprisonment, up to a $100,000 fine, and up to one year of supervised release.Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Lynch represented the government in the prosecution.