Guatemalan Man Sentenced for Unlawful Reentry After Removal

Gulfport, Miss. – Ramiro Tzul, 27, a citizen of Guatemala, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. to “time served” (or 121 days of federal imprisonment), followed by one year of supervised release, for the unlawful reentry by an alien after removal, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles with Immigration & Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans, and Gregory K. Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector. 

Upon release from his federal prison sentence, Tzul will remain in the administrative detention custody of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement.  Tzul will face removal proceedings to remove him from the United States back to his home nation of Guatemala.  As a result of this felony conviction, if Tzul were to unlawfully return to the U.S., he could face up to ten years in federal prison.  Tzul pled guilty before Judge Guirola on March 14, 2019.

On  February 5, 2019, on Interstate-10 in Jackson County, Mississippi,  a U.S. Border Patrol Agent conducted a traffic stop on a 2005 Honda Odyssey displaying a temporary Texas license plate.  The agent requested a driver’s license from the driver, who was identified as Mr. Ricardo Tiul-Cuc, the uncle of Ramiro Tzul.  Tiul-Cuc did not have a driver’s license but provided a Guatemalan identification card.  The agent also identified two passengers, an adult man who was identified as Ramiro Tzul, and an adult woman, lying down across the back seats.

The three occupants admitted that they were citizens of Guatemala and did not possess the proper documents to be in the United States legally.  They were arrested by the Border Patrol and transported to the Gulfport Border Patrol office for processing.  Further investigation revealed that both Tiul-Cuc and Tzul had been previously removed from the United States.

Ricardo Tiul-Cuc, also from Guatemala, was prosecuted for the same felony offense of unlawful reentry by an alien after removal.  He pled guilty before Judge Sul Ozerden and was sentenced on April 16, 2019 to 3 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release.

“This case highlights that HSI will not allow illegal aliens to travel through a revolving door into the U.S.,” said HSI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Jere T. Miles. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our legal immigration system and hold those accountable who flagrantly violate those laws.”

 U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the teamwork and cooperation exhibited by the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Border Patrol, and  Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris was the prosecutor for the case.