Deported Killer Returns—Again

U.S. immigration and naturalization documents with American flag — Photo: Pamela Au / Shutterstock

A twice-deported illegal alien who killed a young Marine in a 2017 hit-and-run is back in immigration custody and now faces deportation for the third time.

Story Snapshot

A Mexican national killed Marine Lance Corporal James Walden III in a 2017 hit-and-run, then reentered the U.S. illegally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says he was deported in 2020, came back in 2021, and was deported again in 2022.
He illegally reentered yet again, was arrested in Maryland in 2023, and sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for illegal reentry.
After finishing that sentence, ICE took him from federal prison on July 22, and he now faces a third deportation.

Repeat Illegal Reentry After Killing a U.S. Marine

Federal immigration officials say 38-year-old Mexican national Martin Martinez-Ballinas first entered the national spotlight after a deadly car crash in Maryland in 2017. Local reporting shows he pleaded guilty to failing to remain at the scene of an accident that caused the death of 21-year-old Marine Lance Corporal James Ray Walden III. A Maryland judge sentenced him to six years in prison and five years of supervised probation for that felony hit-and-run. That crime made him deportable under federal law once his state sentence was complete.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says that after he served time for the crash, Martinez-Ballinas was deported to Mexico in 2020. Federal law makes it a crime for a deported alien to reenter or be found in the United States without permission from the government. According to ICE, he tried to sneak back across the southern border in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas in 2021, where Border Patrol agents arrested him for illegal reentry. A federal court in the Southern District of Texas later sentenced him to 15 months in prison for that offense.

Second Deportation, Third Illegal Return, and New Federal Sentence

ICE reports that after serving his 15-month prison term for illegal reentry, Martinez-Ballinas was deported a second time in October 2022. Despite two removals and the prior felony crash that killed an American service member, he came back again. ICE and local coverage say agents tracked him down in Maryland in December 2023 after yet another unlawful return. By this point, he had entered the United States illegally at least three times following his initial deportation, each time adding more strain on front-line officers and the court system.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland later announced that Martinez-Ballinas pled guilty to illegal reentry and was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison in 2025. Officials noted this sentence followed his prior felony conviction tied to the deadly crash. Under federal law, illegal reentry is normally punishable by up to two years in prison, but penalties increase when the earlier removal followed a felony conviction. In practice, that means repeat offenders like Martinez-Ballinas can receive longer sentences as courts try to deter further violations.

Transfer From Federal Prison and What Federal Law Says About Deportation

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Newark says agents took custody of Martinez-Ballinas on July 22 from the federal prison at Fort Dix in New Jersey. He had just finished serving his latest 37‑month sentence for illegal reentry and was then moved into immigration detention to face removal for the third time. This transfer fits standard federal practice: the law generally requires that noncitizen inmates serve their criminal sentences before they are removed from the country.

Marine Lance Corporal James Walden III was killed by an illegal alien in a hit-and-run in 2017.

The alien, Martin Martinez-Ballinas, should have NEVER been in our nation and has been taken into ICE custody and will be deported.

Our prayers are with the family, friends, and…

— 𝗘𝗹𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗸 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁 (@Grokfathermuskk) August 1, 2026

Federal statutes explain why this case matters for border and public safety policy. The illegal reentry law, 8 United States Code section 1326, makes it a felony for a deported alien to reenter or be found in the United States without permission. Another section, 8 United States Code section 1231, says the government usually cannot deport an alien until that person is released from prison, though there is a narrow exception for some nonviolent offenders. In many cases, including serious crashes that cause death, the alien completes the entire criminal sentence and only then enters streamlined deportation proceedings.

Immigration System Pressures and Conservative Concerns

This case highlights how repeat illegal reentry can stretch the justice system and fuel public anger, especially after the death of an American service member. Martinez-Ballinas cycled through state court, federal courts in Texas and Maryland, two earlier deportations, and now a third removal effort, all while taxpayers covered prison costs and enforcement work. For many conservatives, that record raises hard questions about border security during prior administrations and the speed of removal after serious crimes.

President Trump’s administration now faces the task of carrying out this third deportation and making sure similar offenders do not slip back in again. Under existing law, someone removed more than once faces longer bars to legal reentry and tougher penalties if they cross the border illegally. Federal officials have tools to fast-track deportations for noncitizens with felony records, including special removal proceedings in prisons. The challenge, often raised by border hawks, is making sure those tools are used quickly and consistently so that families never again lose a son or daughter in uniform to an offender who should not be in the country in the first place.