Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States

A Mexican man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to almost three months in federal prison.

Sergio Aguilar-Velasco, age 34, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Riceville, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 4, 2018, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.

At the guilty plea, Aguilar-Velasco admitted he had previously been deported from the United States in August 2006 and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. 

Aguilar-Velasco was deported in August 2006 following his misdemeanor conviction in the Northern District of Iowa on July 6, 2006, for illegal entry into the United States following his arrest during an immigration enforcement action at a meatpacking plant in Clarion, Iowa.  Aguilar-Velasco was also deported to Mexico two times in one week in April 2004 and two times on the same day in November 2006.  Aguilar-Velasco was found by immigration agents at the Mitchell County, Iowa, jail in July 2018 after Aguilar-Velasco was arrested for traffic violations.  While Aguilar-Velasco initially denied ever being encountered by immigration officials, an analysis of his fingerprints confirmed that he had been deported in 2006 and removed from the United States four other times. 

Aguilar-Velasco was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Aguilar-Velasco was sentenced to 84 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.

Aguilar-Velasco 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-2043-CJW. 

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