Five Foreign Nationals Sentenced for Illegally Reentering the United States After Deportation; Another Sentenced for Fraudulent Passport Applications

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that five defendants convicted of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations, and one defendant convicted of making false statements in his passport applications so he could illegally reside in the U.S., were sentenced this week.

Ronal Leonardo Suarez, 44, a Guatemalan national, pleaded guilty this afternoon to illegal reentry and was sentenced to time served, three months, by United States District Judge Mark A. Kearney. Having completed his prison sentence, Suarez again will be removed from the country.

Suarez had had previously been deported from the U.S. in July 2003, after he was encountered by immigration authorities and ordered removed.

In March of this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) located and arrested Suarez outside the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in Norristown, where he had an appearance on a pending criminal charge. Suarez was charged by federal indictment with illegal reentry in April.

Demetrio Pulido Urbina, 39, a Mexican national, was sentenced this morning to time served, just over four months, by United States District Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg, for illegal reentry. Having completed his prison sentence, Pulido Urbina again will be removed from the country.

Pulido Urbina had previously been removed from the U.S. three times: twice in February 2015, after separate encounters with the U.S. Border Patrol in Texas and Arizona, and again in June 2016, after he was convicted in the District of Arizona of illegally reentering the United States and had completed his 30-day sentence.

In August 2024, ICE received electronic notification that Pulido Urbina had been arrested by the Caln Township (Pa.) Police Department on a charge of simple assault.

ICE located and arrested Pulido Urbina in February of this year. He was charged by indictment the same month and pleaded guilty in April.

Gonzalo Hernandez-Roque, 28, a Guatemalan national, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to illegal reentry and was sentenced to time served, almost three months, by United States District Judge John M. Gallagher. Having completed his prison sentence, Hernandez-Roque again will be removed from the country.

A May 2016 encounter with the U.S. Border Patrol in Texas led an immigration judge to order his deportation, and he was removed from the country that July.

In March of this year, ICE located and administratively arrested Hernandez-Roque and he was charged by indictment in April.

Guillermo Lopez-Ramirez, 34, a Guatemalan national, was also sentenced on Tuesday by Judge Gallagher to time served, almost three months, for illegal reentry. Having completed his prison sentence, he again will be removed from the country.

Lopez-Ramirez had had previously been removed from the U.S. in May 2015, after he was encountered and arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol for being in the country illegally.

In July of 2024, ICE received electronic notification that Lopez-Ramirez had been arrested by the Upper Moreland Township (Pa.) Police Department.

After conducting surveillance to verify the defendant’s identity and location, ICE arrested Lopez-Ramirez in March of this year, and he was charged by information in April.

Martin Astudillo Estrada, aka Martely Ortiz Perez, 41, a Mexican national, was sentenced on Monday by United States District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer to four months in prison for illegal reentry. At the conclusion of his sentence, he again will be removed from the country.

Following multiple encounters with U.S. immigration authorities between 2000 and 2013 that had resulted in Astudillo Estrada’s voluntary departures back to Mexico, he was encountered in June of 2015 by the U.S. Border Patrol in Arizona and removed from the U.S. that July.

In July 2024, ICE received an electronic notification that the Downingtown Borough Police Department had arrested Astudillo Estrada for driving under the influence of a controlled substance/alcohol, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in November 2024.

Earlier this year, ICE officers conducted surveillance, confirmed Astudillo Estrada’s location and identity, and took him into custody in February. He was charged by indictment with illegal reentry in March and pleaded guilty in April.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

The cases were investigated by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lizmar Bosques, Rosalynda M. Michetti, Robert Schopf, Rebecca J. Kulik, and Robert J. Livermore.

Also on Monday, Andres De La Rosa Hernandez, 61, a Dominican native illegally residing in Camden, New Jersey, was sentenced to time served, approximately two months, by United States District Judge John F. Murphy for making a false statement in application of a passport. Having completed his prison sentence, De La Rosa Hernandez will be removed from the country.

The defendant was charged by information in April of this year and pleaded guilty in May, at which time he waived prosecution by indictment.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, De La Rosa Hernandez had been living illegally in the United States under the name and identity of a U.S. citizen, filing for and receiving multiple U.S. passport books and cards in that citizen’s name.

Specifically, in May 2004 the defendant fraudulently obtained a U.S. passport book in in the name and other identifiers of Victim 1, and in August 2014, used that U.S. passport book to fraudulently obtain a renewed U.S. passport book and U.S. passport card.

In September 2024, De La Rosa Hernandez used the fraudulently obtained 2014 U.S. passport book and U.S. passport card to attempt to receive a renewed U.S. passport book and U.S. passport card. Ultimately, they were not issued, after the Philadelphia Passport Agency discovered multiple fraud indicators during the adjudication process and referred the matter to the U.S. Department of State.

This case was investigated by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Livermore.