Hailey Man Sentenced for Obtaining U.S. Citizenship by Fraud
BOISE – Americo De La Cruz, 38, of Hailey, Idaho, was sentenced in United States District Court in Boise today to five years probation for unlawful procurement of U.S. citizenship, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered De La Cruz’s citizenship be immediately revoked.
De La Cruz pleaded guilty to the charge on August 31, 2011. During his plea, De La Cruz admitted that in 2000, he entered into a fraudulent marriage with a United States citizen for the sole purpose of obtaining immigration benefits. De La Cruz further admitted that he then applied for immigration benefits by asserting that his marriage was a legitimate marriage. As a result of De La Cruz’s fraud, he was naturalized as a United States citizen on July 9, 2009.
Upon revocation of his U.S. citizenship, De La Cruz will be placed into administrative removal proceedings by the Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Custom's Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
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