Resident Of Dominican Republic Sentenced On Illegal Reentry Case

BOSTON - A resident of the Dominican Republic was sentenced today for illegally reentering the United States after being previously deported.

Melvin Vinicio-Arias, 39, of Lawrence, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 56 months in prison. Vinicio-Arias also faces deportation to the Dominican Republic upon completion of his prison term. In July 2013, Vinicio-Arias pleaded guilty to illegal reentry of a deported alien.

Vinicio-Arias had previously been removed from the U.S. in 1998 and 2010; he re-entered the United States illegally at some point after each removal without permission. In 1998, Vinicio-Arias arrived to the U.S. from Puerto Rico and attempted to gain admission by presenting a Puerto Rican birth certificate to immigration inspectors in New York. Additionally, in 2006, he was convicted of felony narcotics offenses and subsequently deported back to the Dominican Republic in 2010. Vinicio-Arias most recently re-entered the U.S. at an unknown place and date and came to the attention of agents in June 2012.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; and Sean Gallagher, Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, made the announcement today.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.