An Ecuadorian national, William Ariel Tamay Guaman, has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Portland for illegally re-entering the United States after a prior removal. U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr., handed down a sentence of time served, which amounts to approximately seven months in prison. Tamay Guaman had entered a guilty plea on April 3, 2025.
Court records reveal that on February 4, 2025, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), along with the FBI, conducted surveillance at a residence in South Portland. After observing Tamay Guaman entering a van, agents initiated a traffic stop. An ERO agent familiar with him approached and requested his name. Tamay Guaman provided a false identity and was subsequently asked to exit the vehicle. He attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended after resisting arrest. It was noted that he had previously been deported from the United States in September 2023.
The investigation was carried out by ICE-ERO with support from the FBI.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). The operation seeks to protect communities from violent crime by coordinating efforts through the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
