Citizen Of Guatemala Convicted Of Reentry After Deportation

           CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced that on Thursday a federal jury found Nelson Alexander Fuentes-Lopez, 32, a citizen of Guatemala, guilty of reentering the United States after having been previously deported.            

          According to trial exhibits and witness testimony during the two-day jury trial, Fuentes-Lopez was found in Seabrook in May of this year when he was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for speeding.

          Fuentes-Lopez was subsequently arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations Officers when it was discovered that he had been deported in July of 2014 after illegally crossing the border in Texas. 

          Fuentes-Lopez was convicted of one count of reentry after deportation.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 17, 2019.  U.S. Immigration and customers Enforcement will seek his removal following the service of his sentence.

          “Those who have been deported from the United States must follow the law if they wish to return to this country,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “If they choose to return to the United States unlawfully, they are subject to federal prosecution.”

          “Illegally re-entering the United States after being previously removed from the U.S. is a serious violation of our immigration law”, said Marcos D. Charles, acting Field Office Director U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations, Boston. “When an individual violates these laws, that person shows contempt for our long established immigration system. These actions also disrespect the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have followed the lawful process of entry into our country.”                          

          This matter was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Assistance also was provided by United States Border Patrol and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon.

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