Sept. 21, 2011

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LAREDO, Texas – An illegal alien with multiple felony convictions who re-entered the United States illegally will be serving several years in federal prison, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

Jose Rogelio Perales Sanchez, 24, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been sentenced to serve a total of eight years in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States. Senior U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen handed down the prison sentence at a hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011. Perales Sanchez was discovered by agents of the United States Border Patrol (BP) on March 25, 2011, during a routine check of the Webb County Jail in Laredo. Perales Sanchez was being held in state custody pending disposition of unrelated state charges. Perales Sanchez admitted to BP agents that he had illegally entered the United States by wading across the Rio Grande in December in 2010 after having been deported just days before. 

Indicted for the federal immigration violation in late April 2011, Perales Sanchez pleaded guilty to the charge on June 10th.

The 96-month prison term includes 84 months imprisonment for the instant illegal re-entry conviction and an additional 12 month prison term to be served consecutively for violating the terms of the supervised release imposed following a prior immigration violation conviction. The court considered Perales Sanchez’s criminal history, which includes multiple felony convictions in deciding upon the length of the prison terms. Perales Sanchez is subject to deportation upon completion of his prison term.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez.