Man deported three times arrested by Border Patrol in Grand Forks, federal filing says

(Valley News Live) – A man arrested by Border Patrol agents in Grand Forks this week faces a federal allegation that he returned to the United States illegally after being deported, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

Raul Alexander Pineda-Mendez, a citizen of Honduras, was arrested Monday after agents tried to stop his pickup, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. The affidavit, signed by a Border Patrol agent, alleges Pineda-Mendez was deported on Feb. 1, 2026, and that no record shows he received permission to come back.

According to the affidavit, agents on a roving patrol in Grand Forks saw a black GMC pickup registered to Pineda-Mendez parked in the 1500 block of South Washington Street. Agents said they recognized the truck from seeing it on Interstate 29 near Grand Forks on Sept. 29. Record checks that day showed the registered owner matched a person previously deported to Honduras, the affidavit says, and a warrant of removal for Pineda-Mendez was signed Sept. 30.

Agents said they saw Pineda-Mendez and another man get into the pickup and drive away around 3:20 p.m. Monday. Agents activated emergency lights and sirens to stop the truck near a gas station, but the affidavit says the pickup accelerated away. It turned into a nearby parking lot, where other agents’ vehicles blocked it in, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit says Pineda-Mendez identified himself and told agents he had a pending U visa application that would allow him to remain in the country. Agents found no recent immigration records showing he had been allowed into the U.S. since his February deportation, the affidavit says. Asked where he last entered the country, Pineda-Mendez declined to answer, according to the affidavit.

Agents arrested him and took him to the Border Patrol station in Pembina, North Dakota, for processing, the affidavit says. After being read his Miranda rights, he acknowledged them but said he would not answer questions without an attorney.

Fingerprint records show Pineda-Mendez was removed to Honduras three times, according to the affidavit:

March 2012, after he was encountered by Border Patrol in Corpus Christi, Texas, in October 2011 and ordered removed by an immigration judge.
March 2021, after an encounter with immigration authorities in Minnesota in March 2020.
Feb. 1, 2026, after another encounter with immigration authorities in Minnesota in January.

Pineda-Mendez is being held in the Grand Forks County Jail.

This story is based on a federal affidavit, which contains allegations that have not been proven in court.