Guatemalan Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States After Being Deported

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

Andres Mejia-Perez, age 30, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Toledo, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea on October 30, 2020, to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.

In a plea agreement, Mejia-Perez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government.  Mejia-Perez was deported in January 2012 and he illegally reentered the United States in April 2012.  Mejia-Perez most recently came to the attention of immigration agents in May 2020 when he was found during the execution of a state search warrant at a home in Toledo.

Mejia-Perez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Mejia-Perez was sentenced to 119 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.

Mejia-Perez 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 20-CR-72.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.