MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL REENTRY

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on September 2, 2009, CESAR HERNANDEZ-ESCALANTE, age 29,of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, plead guilty in United States District Court at Benton, Illinois, to a two count indictment charging him with Illegal Reentry into the United States After Having Been Removed (Count 1), and Transporting an Illegal Alien for Financial Gain (Count 2). The violations took place on June 21, 2009, in Effingham County, Illinois.

According to the indictment, HERNANDEZ-ESCALANTE had previously been removed from the United States pursuant to law on June 11, 2009, through Harlingen, Texas. It was proven that HERNANDEZ-ESCALANTE was present in the United States on June 21, 2009, without having first obtained the consent of the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary for Homeland Security, to reapply for admission to the United States. The second Count alleged that HERNANDEZ-ESCALANTE transported an illegal alien for financial gain, knowing that he had come into the United States illegally.

HERNANDEZ-ESCALANTE faces a potential sentence on Count 1 of not more than 2 years, a $250,000 fine, a one year term of supervised release and deportation. He faces not more than 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release and deportation on Count 2. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 10:30 a.m., January 19, 2010.

This case was investigated by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Department and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael C. Carr.