Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States After Being Deported Two Times

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

Eduardo Sierra-Montes, age 46, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in West Liberty, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 4, 2019, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.

At the guilty plea, Sierra-Montes admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government.  Sierra-Montes was deported in February 2014 and again in April 2014.

On November 13, 2019, Sierra-Montes came to the attention of immigration agents in the parking lot outside the ICE office in Cedar Rapids.  After admitting being illegally in the United States, Sierra-Montes fled on foot after being asked to step out of the vehicle.  When he was apprehended a short distance away, immigration agents found a work identification card on Sierra-Montes bearing a different name.  Further investigation showed that Sierra-Montes had been illegally working in West Liberty, Iowa, since October 2018, using the name and social security number of another person.

Sierra-Montes has a prior conviction for domestic violence in Kalamazoo County, Michigan in 1999.  He also has a prior conviction for retail theft in Rock Island County, Illinois in 2004 where he was convicted under a different alias name.

Sierra-Montes was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States three months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Sierra-Montes is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

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 19-CR-125.

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