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Press Release

Guatemalan Man Sentenced for Illegally Reentering the U.S. and Using Fraudulent Social Security Card

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa
Man arrested during a traffic stop in Sioux County had been previously deported, and was in the United States illegally.

A man who entered the United States illegally from Guatemala and used a fraudulent social security card to obtain employment was sentenced on January 28, 2020, to time served of 168 days.

Ismael Lopez-Lopez, age 26, from Guatemala, received the sentence after an October 3, 2019, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry and a December 3, 2019, guilty plea to one count of misuse of a social security number.

At the guilty plea hearings, Lopez-Lopez admitted he had illegally entered the United States from Guatemala in 2016, and subsequently used a fraudulent social security card to obtain employment.  On August 9, 2019, defendant was arrested in Sioux County, Iowa, for a traffic offense.  Fingerprints were obtained from Lopez-Lopez, and it was determined that he had previously been deported and was in the U.S. illegally.  Lopez-Lopez provided law enforcement with the name of his employer in Rock Valley.  After an official check of social security records, it was discovered the social security number Lopez-Lopez used in applying for the job was assigned to someone other than Lopez-Lopez.

Lopez-Lopez was sentenced to time served in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and investigated by Enforcement and Removal Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl

The case file numbers are 19-CR-04050 and 19-CR-04080.

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Updated January 29, 2020

Topic
Immigration