A Mexican national, Felix Aguilar-Matias, has been sentenced to three months in prison and had his U.S. citizenship revoked due to naturalization fraud. Aguilar-Matias, 51, pleaded guilty on February 18, 2025.
Court documents reveal that Aguilar-Matias applied for naturalization with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) in August 2014 and became a U.S. citizen in March 2015. However, he was arrested by the Bay St. Louis Police Department in Hancock County in October 2019 and later convicted of two felony offenses related to criminal acts committed between August and December 2010. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Investigations found that Aguilar-Matias intentionally made false statements on his naturalization application to hide his past felonies.
The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Patrick A. Lemon and Brian Acuna, Acting Field Office Director of ICE/ERO in New Orleans.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement & Removal Operations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris.
This prosecution is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a nationwide initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators.
