Salvadoran National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry

BOSTON – A Salvadoran national unlawfully residing in Chelsea, Mass. pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.

Juan Carlos Gil-Ochoa, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien before U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley who scheduled sentencing for Oct. 3, 2025. In June 2025, Gil-Ochoa was indicted by a federal grand jury. He was arrested by immigration authorities on May 12, 2025.

Gil-Ochoa was deported from the United States to El Salvador in April 2013. Sometime after his removal, Gil-Ochoa illegally reentered the United States without permission and was encountered by immigration authorities in October 2023.  

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. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. 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 Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.