Criminal Indicted For Illegal Re-entry After Deportation

MINNEAPOLIS—Recently in federal court, a 40-year-old Mexican national was indicted for entering the United States illegally after being deported as a criminal. On April 15, 2013, Benito Blanco-Correa was charged with one count of illegal re-entry after deportation.

The indictment alleges that on March 13, 2013, Estrada-Garcia was found in the U.S. after having been previously deported to Mexico on three occasions, the last being in 2010, following a 2009 conviction in the District of Minnesota for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin. On March 13, Blanco-Correa was identified as an illegal alien while in the Hennepin County jail, where he was being held after a narcotics’ arrest.

The identification was made though the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) Criminal Alien Program (“CAP”). The goal of CAP is to locate criminal aliens incarcerated in federal and state prisons, as well as in local jails, and prevent them from being released into society by having them federally prosecuted for illegally re-entry. In some instances, federal prosecution occurs only after the individual has been prosecuted for the recent underlying offense.

If convicted of the federal charges on levied against him, Estrada-Garcia faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, followed by deportation. Any sentence would be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan P. Petterson.

To learn more about the CAP, visit www.ice.gov/criminal-alien-program/

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.