MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A Mexican national with a history of deportations is facing federal charges after U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped him on Interstate 10 near Mobile.
Agents arrested Joel Magana-Valerio, 50, on March 31, 2026, after a data alert flagged his vehicle — a 1999 red Chevrolet S-10 — traveling eastbound on I-10. Records showed the truck was registered to Magana-Valerio, who had previously been ordered removed from the United States.
According to a federal criminal complaint, a supervisory Border Patrol agent spotted the vehicle near the Alabama-Mississippi state line and followed it for several miles before conducting a traffic stop near mile marker 8. During an immigration inspection, Magana-Valerio told the agent he was in the country illegally and had no documents allowing him to be here legally.
Court records show Magana-Valerio has been removed from the United States multiple times — dating back to 2005 — with his most recent removal in 2014…