Ciro Alvarez-hernandez Sentenced in U.S. District Court
The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on January 25, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, CIRO ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ, a 21-year-old citizen of Mexico, appeared for sentencing. ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 6 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 1 year
ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to illegal re-entry.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On October 15, 2010, ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ was encountered in Billings by a Billings Police officer. Suspecting ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ was a potential illegal immigrant, the officer contacted U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agents. When asked by an agent as to his citizenship, ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ admitted to being a citizen and national of Mexico illegally present in the United States.
A search of Immigration Records and a fingerprint comparison revealed that ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ's last removal from the United States was on December 2, 2009, through the Nogales Arizona Port of Entry.
When questioned further, ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ admitted to having been previously removed from the United States and that he had never applied to the Secretary of Homeland Security to reenter the United States.
Further review of Immigration Records found no evidence that ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ had received permission from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reenter the United States after having been removed.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ALVAREZ-HERNANDEZ does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Billings Police Department and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
