Previously Removed Alien Pleads Guilty To Illegal Re-Entry

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Rafael Zapata, age 67, of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty today to illegally re-entering the United States following removal, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent John C. Pfeifer.

Zapata faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years when he is sentenced on February 3, 2016 by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.

Zapata pleaded guilty to a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits previously removed aliens from entering, attempting to enter, or being found in the United States without permission.

Zapata was encountered on July 28, 2015 by St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police officers after crossing the border on the Akwesasne Reservation near Hogansburg, New York. Border Patrol agents responded and arrested Zapata when they determined that he was an alien unlawfully present in the United States. A check of Zapata’s fingerprints by Border Patrol indicated that he had been deported and removed from the United States to the Dominican Republic in 2008 after being convicted of a drug trafficking crime in 2003 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol with assistance from the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Grogan.