Guatemalan Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States

A Guatemalan man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to more than four months in federal prison.

Pedro Isaias Jax-Tiu, age 22, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Postville, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 4, 2018, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.

At the guilty plea, Jax-Tiu admitted he had previously been deported from the United States in 2015 and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government.  When Jax-Tiu was found by immigration agents in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in April 2018, Jax-Tiu provided the agents with a false name and date of birth.  Analysis of Jax-Tiu’s fingerprints established his true name and prior deportation.

Jax-Tiu was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Jax-Tiu was sentenced to 127 days’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Jax-Tiu is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. 

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

The case file number is 18-CR-40-LTS. 

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