CITIZEN OF MEXICO ADMITS ILLEGALLY
REENTERING THE U.S. FOLLOWING HIS DEPORTATION
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSE LOPEZ GARCIA, 27, a citizen of Mexico, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven to one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien.
According to court documents and statements made in court, LOPEZ GARCIA first entered the United States in April 1999 and voluntarily returned to Mexico. He reentered the country several times between 1999 and 2007. After reentering in 2010, he was ordered deported by an immigration judge. He returned to the United States in 2011 and was again deported.
On an unknown date after April 2011, LOPEZ GARCIA illegally reentered the U.S. without first obtaining the consent of the Attorney General of the United States or his successor, the Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, to reapply for admission into the U.S.
On June 10, 2012, LOPEZ GARCIA was arrested by police for various driving-related offenses. Subsequent investigation revealed that LOPEZ GARCIA was in the country illegally. He has been detained since June 2012.
LOPEZ GARCIA is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton on November 9, 2012, at which LOPEZ GARCIA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years and a maximum fine of $250,000.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarala V. Nagala.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov
