One of ICE’s Most Wanted Aliens Indicted for Illegally Re-Entering the United States Following Deportation

          LOS ANGELES – A Belizean national on the list of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s most wanted deportable aliens has been charged with illegal re-entry into the United States following his deportation, a felony.

          Santos Moreira, 46, an immigrant from Belize who currently is in the United States illegally, was found in Los Angeles County on November 2, 2015, according to an indictment returned against him on January 25 by a federal grand jury. Moreira previously was deported from the United States on three separate occasions – in December 1995, September 1999 and October 2010, the indictment states. Moreira is charged with re-entering and remaining in the United States knowingly and voluntarily without having obtained permission from the United States Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission into the United States following deportation.

          Moreira’s criminal history includes a conviction in Los Angeles County Superior Court for possession for sale of cocaine base in 1991, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison, according to the indictment. In 1992, Moreira was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of second-degree robbery with an enhancement for personally using a firearm. He was sentenced to five years in state prison for that offense, the indictment states. Moreira is incarcerated at a Texas state prison for a 2018 drug-related conviction. He is expected to be brought to United States District Court in the Central District of California to face the federal illegal re-entry charge in the coming months.

          If convicted, Moreira faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

          An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

          This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

          This matter is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Ryan of the General Crimes section.