Illegal Alien from Mexico Sentenced For Unlawfully Reentering the United States

Jackson, Miss. – Federico Hernandez-Rios, 33, an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves to time served (13 months in federal custody), followed by immediate deportation to Mexico, for illegally reentering the United States after his prior deportation, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans. 

According to testimony provided in open court and court filings, Hernandez-Rios had been charged in 2010 in Florida, and pled guilty to, the state felony offense of possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver.  Thereafter, in October 2010, immigration authorities deported Hernandez-Rios to Mexico.  On August 2, 2018, Brandon police officers made a traffic stop of a vehicle carrying six passengers, all of whom, including the driver, were aliens illegally present in the United States.  Hernandez-Rios was one of those passengers, and he was detained by Homeland Security Investigation agents.  Hernandez-Rios had not requested or received permission of United States Immigration authorities to reenter the United States, as required by federal law. Reentry by an alien, who had previously been convicted of an aggravated felony before he was deported, is a felony punishable by up to twenty years imprisonment under federal law.

            The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, the Brandon Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Glenda Haynes and Theodore M. Cooperstein.