A Guatemalan man who was in the U.S. illegally was sentenced Sept. 23 in federal court to time-served and remanded to U.S. Border Patrol upon release, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

Tomy Osama Salvador-Quino, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this month to illegal reentry.

He’s been in the Cascade County Adult Detention Center for 38 days and remained in custody on the morning of Sept. 24, according to the county attorney’s office. His name does not appear on the county jail inmate roster.

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Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said the federal agencies are inconsistent on which inmates they allow to be included on the roster.

“It’s maddening,” Slaughter told The Electric.

He said he’s waiting for the new U.S. Marshal for Montana to be appointed and that he would “demand that everybody in the jail go on the roster.”

Slaughter wasn’t at the office when The Electric called so he said he’d check the system later to confirm how many immigration related holds were in the county jail to determine how many are not included in the roster.

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On Sept. 23, there were 20 listed by name and one with an age and date of booking, but the name was withheld.

Slaughter said he considers the names of federal holds in the county jail as public record and that it has also been frustrating for families of federal inmates since they can’t call them or add money to their commissary accounts if they aren’t included on the roster.

Slaughter and his staff are currently working on their request to increase the daily rate under the current U.S. Marshal Service contract and through that process can negotiate some terms of their contract. The county is also in preliminary discussions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a separate contract, though ICE inmates can be held in the county jail under the Marshal contract.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the case.

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According to the prosecution, a Hill County sheriff’s deputy saw a silver sedan with a Texas license plate speeding through Hingham around noon on Aug. 15.

The deputy initiated a traffic stop, approached the driver side of the car, and told the driver, Salvador-Quino, he was stopped for speeding. The deputy asked Salvador-Quino for his license, proof of insurance and vehicle registration, but Salvador-Quino did not seem to understand the request and indicated he did not speak English, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. The deputy requested Border Patrol assistance.

While waiting for Border Patrol to arrive, Salvador-Quino provided his passport, which contained his name and country of citizenship – Guatemala. The passport did not include any stamps showing Salvador-Quino entered the U.S. legally, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

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When a Border Patrol agent arrived, Salvador-Quino admitted to being a Guatemalan citizen with no legal status in the U.S. He was taken into custody and processed at the Havre Border Patrol station. After waiving his rights, he agreed to answer questions and again confirmed he is a citizen of Guatemala, was previously removed from the U.S. and had no pending petitions to remain in the U.S.

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According to Salvador-Quino’s A-file, Border Patrol agents previously encountered him on April 5, 2020 and he was removed. He was encountered again in December 2020 and removed on Jan. 15, 2021. He last entered the U.S. illegally sometime after that date and there are no records within the Department of Homeland Security he ever applied for readmission into the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Border Patrol and the Hill County Sheriff’s Office.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the U.S. Department of Justice to stop illegal immigration, cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect communities from perpetrators of violent crime. The operation streamlines efforts and resources from the department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.