Two Mexican Men Sentenced After Traffic Stop Near Malta on Highway 2

MALTA — Two Mexican men were sentenced to 39 days in prison after pleading guilty to illegal reentry charges following a November traffic stop near this northern Montana town, where Highway 2 intersects with Highway 191—a key corridor from the Canadian border.

The town sits at the intersection of U.S. Highway 2—the main east-west artery across northern Montana—and Highway 191, which runs north 80 miles to the Port of Entry at Morgan on the Canadian border^1. That geography makes Malta a critical chokepoint for monitoring north-south traffic from the international boundary.

Victor Manuel Uribe Luna, 35, and David Suarez-Olivera, 45, were each sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris in the Great Falls Federal District Court after entering guilty pleas in November, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme announced.

Traffic Stop on Highway 2

On November 2, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop off U.S. Highway 2 near Malta, according to court documents. The vehicle contained three people, two of whom initially presented identification.

The driver, identified as Uribe Luna, presented a California driver’s license. Suarez-Olivera was identified as one of two passengers in the vehicle. All three occupants were determined to be in the country illegally.

Records checks revealed that Uribe Luna was formally removed from the United States on January 13, 2021, and lacks legal documentation to enter, pass through, or remain in the country. Suarez-Olivera was formally removed on January 26, 2006, and is similarly prohibited from reentering.

During processing, both men acknowledged being citizens and nationals of Mexico without legal documentation to enter, pass through, or remain in the United States. They further acknowledged crossing the international boundary illegally without inspection by an immigration officer at a designated port of entry.

Partnership with Local Law Enforcement

The case was investigated by U.S. Border Patrol and the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office, highlighting the collaboration between federal and local agencies in enforcing immigration law in rural Montana.

The Havre Sector consists of six stations—Plentywood, Scobey, Havre, Malta, St. Mary, and Sweetgrass^2—responsible for 456 miles of international border from the Montana-North Dakota border to the Continental Divide.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana prosecuted the case.

Part of National Initiative

The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative announced by the Department of Justice to marshal federal resources against illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.

The prosecution follows a pattern of recent illegal reentry cases in Montana. Earlier this month, a Mexican man with eight prior deportations was sentenced for his second felony illegal reentry conviction. In November, a Mexican national who crashed into a vehicle during an 80 mph chase through Kalispell pleaded guilty to his fourth illegal reentry charge.

Alme, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October, has overseen a series of high-profile immigration and drug trafficking prosecutions since taking office.