Romeo Edilzar Yaxcal-Tiul, a 26-year-old Guatemalan national, was sentenced on November 19, 2025, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska. United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher gave Yaxcal-Tiul concurrent sentences of 12 months’ imprisonment for falsely representing a social security number and resisting a federal officer. There is no parole in the federal system. After serving his prison sentence, Yaxcal-Tiul will also serve concurrent one-year terms of supervised release for each count.
Judge Buescher stated that while Yaxcal-Tiul will be deported by U.S. immigration authorities when he completes his prison term, the supervision period is intended to deter him from returning to the United States illegally.
According to prosecutors, after two unsuccessful attempts to enter the United States illegally in 2022, Yaxcal-Tiul managed to cross into the country and made his way to Nebraska. In October 2024, he used a fake name and false documents—including a fraudulent Social Security Number (SSN), Social Security Card, Alien Number, and Legal Permanent Resident Card—to get work as a dishwasher at an Omaha restaurant. Investigators determined that both the SSN and Alien Numbers provided were invalid and had not been assigned to him.
In June 2025, law enforcement officers found Yaxcal-Tiul at the restaurant where he worked. Despite being clearly identified as police officers and ordered not to move, Yaxcal-Tiul ran from law enforcement into a crowded patio area before diving into a booth with restaurant patrons. Members of the public helped restrain him until officers took over custody. During this process, he resisted arrest by pulling away and moving his body to avoid handcuffs but was eventually secured and taken into custody. One law enforcement officer sustained injuries during the incident.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
