Mexican Citizen Pleads Guilty to Illegal Re-Entry

PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK – Raul Meza, age 48, and a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty today to illegally re-entering the United States.

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Chief Patrol Agent John C. Pfeifer, United States Border Patrol, Swanton Sector.

As part of his guilty plea, Meza admitted that on August 18, 2017, a Border Patrol agent found him walking down a road in Champlain, New York, about 250 yards south of the border between the United States and Canada. Meza had already been twice removed from the United States to Mexico, first in 2001 and again in 2010. He did not have authorization to return.

Senior United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue is scheduled to sentence Meza on December 18, 2017. Meza faces up to 2 years in prison. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer.