A Guatemalan man has pled guilty to unlawful reentry into the United States, more than five years after his deportation, confirming Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson’s office. The 25-year-old was apprehended in a targeted enforcement operation in Terrytown, Louisiana, by U.S. Border Patrol agents earlier this year.
For his offense, which violates Title 8 of the U.S. Code, Section 1326(a), the man – identified as ARGUETA-JERONIMO – is looking at a potential two-year imprisonment and could be fined up to $250,000. His sentencing is scheduled for November 12, awaiting judgment from Judge Zainey. ARGUETA-JERONIMO, after being stopped in a vehicle registered to another previously removed Guatemalan national, quickly admitted to his illegal status when questioned by federal agents, as reported on U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The case is a component of “Operation Take Back America,” a hardline Department of Justice initiative aiming to staunch illegal immigration and dismantle cartels, and other transnational criminal organizations. This operation, is striving for the “total elimination” of criminal activities that threaten community safety and has been leveraging the might of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood programs…