Fake green card, 4-time illegal reentry leads to 2 criminal alien arrests in Florida

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Crescencio Diaz-Diaz, 36, and Marcelo Perez-Santiz, 33, both of Mexico, have been charged in federal court with illegal reentry of a previously removed alien. Diaz-Diaz has also been charged with possession and use of fraudulent employment authorization documents as part of an ongoing investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Court documents allege that Diaz-Diaz reentered the United States illegally after being deported in 2020. Federal agents encountered him while executing federal criminal search warrants at a Navarre business, Emerald Coast Lawns, and an adjacent residence yesterday. During the search, agents seized a fraudulent permanent resident card, also referred to as a “green card,” and social security card bearing Diaz-Diaz’s name and photograph but another person’s identifying information. Diaz-Diaz allegedly admitted to giving the documents to Emerald Coast to gain employment.

Separate court documents allege that Perez-Santiz reentered the United States illegally after being deported on three separate occasions in 2012. Officials found him at the business address for Emerald Coast Lawns in February. Officials arrested him July 23 on a criminal complaint, and he faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, the FBI, the ATF, the Florida Highway Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office are investigating these cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia H. Forbes is prosecuting.