Sentencings In Illegal Re-entry Cases Involving Those With Prior Criminal Records

MINNEAPOLIS -- In the District of Minnesota, court action continued this week in two separate cases involving foreign nationals who entered the United States illegally after being deported as criminals. Yesterday, one of those men was sentenced on one count of illegal entry after removal, while earlier in the week a second man was sentenced for the same crime.

In the first case, U.S. District Court Judge David S. Doty sentenced Miguel Angel Renteria-Garcia, age 40, to 41 months in federal prison. Renteria-Garcia was indicted on July 23, 2012, and pleaded guilty on September 21, 2012. In his plea agreement, Renteria-Garcia admitted that on July 5, 2012, he was found in the U.S. after having been previously deported in 1996, following California convictions for possession of a controlled substance while armed and possession with intent to sell a controlled substance. On July 5, 2012, Renteria-Garcia, also known as Rodolfo Amescua-Flores, was stopped by the Minnesota State Patrol near Owatonna in connection to the seizure of approximately 235 pounds of marijuana.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Minnesota State Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Hollenhorst.

In the second case, Daniel Gonzalez-Deleone, age 35, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle. Gonzalez-Deleone was indicted on June 18, 2012, and pleaded guilty on August 10, 2012. In his plea agreement, Gonzalez-Deleone admitted that on May 15, 2012, he was found in the U.S. illegally after having been previously deported. His deportation followed a 2005 California conviction for sale or transportation of marijuana. On May 15, 2012, he was arrested for loitering and for public consumption and was held in the Hennepin County jail, where he was identified as an illegal alien with a criminal record.

That identification was made though the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) Criminal Alien Program (“CAP”). The goal of that program 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-entering the U.S. In some instances, federal prosecution will occur only after the individual is prosecuted for the recent underlying offense.

This case was the result of an investigation by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ICE ERO”). It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin S. Ueland and Lola Velazquez-Aguilu.

Both men will be deported after serving their federal sentences. To learn more about the CAP, visit www.ice.gov/criminal-alien-program/