2 men who illegally re-entered the US after being deported receive substantial federal prison sentences

DALLAS — In two unrelated immigration cases, two men received substantial prison sentences following their convictions for illegally re-entering the United States after being previously deported, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

The cases were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Dallas.

In the first case, Jose Vargas-Soto, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means on Aug. 29 to 15 years in federal prison. Vargas-Soto pleaded guilty in April 2011 to one count of illegal re-entry following deportation. According to plea documents filed in this case, Vargas-Soto, a citizen of Mexico, was deported in November 2009. On Sept. 26, 2010, he was arrested in Weatherford, Texas, having illegally re-entered the United States. The criminal complaint notes that Vargas-Soto has previous convictions for the following crimes: manslaughter, intoxicated assault, possessing cocaine, illegal re-entry after deportation, and most recently, driving while intoxicated in September 2010.

In the other case, defendant Osvaldo Compian-Torres, 43, was convicted of illegal re-entry following deportation at trial in February 2011. He was sentenced on Sept. 13 by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to nine years and one month in federal prison. Evidence presented at trial showed that Compian-Torres had previously served prison sentences as a result of two previous illegal re-entries.

Anyone who re-enters the United States after having been previously deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Both defendants will be turned over to ICE ERO for deportation after they complete their prison sentences.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson Davis, Northern District of Texas, prosecuted the cases.