Dominican Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry

BOSTON – A Dominican man pleaded guilty yesterday to illegally reentering the United States following a prior removal.

Juan Nova-Nivar, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry before U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper, who scheduled sentencing for April 5, 2023. Nova-Nivar was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2017 after being arrested on unrelated state charges in Essex County. He remains in state custody.

In 2012, Nova-Nivar was encountered by immigration officials in Texas, determined to be illegally present in the United States and placed into removal proceedings. He was deported to the Dominican Republic on June 6, 2012.

Sometime after his 2012 removal, Nova-Nivar illegally reentered the United States. In 2015, Nova-Nivar was arrested in Lawrence under an alias on drug distribution charges. Nova-Nivar failed to appear for a number of scheduled pre-trial hearings and a warrant was issued for his arrest. 

Fingerprints obtained at the time of Nova-Nivar’s arrest provided a positive match with those from his 2012 removal and Nova-Nivar, leading to his March 2017 indictment for illegal reentry in this case.
 
In May 2022, Novar Nivar — while still in warrant status for the state drug distribution charges — was arrested in Lawrence again using the same alias. He was later transferred into federal custody.

The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.