ERO operation results in prison sentence after multiple removals

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – A man who illegally returned to the United States after being removed on two previous occasions was sentenced June 10 to almost three months in federal prison following a targeted enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Saint Paul.

Hector Vasquez-Vasquez, 36, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Tama County, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea April 11, to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been removed.

At the guilty plea, Vasquez-Vasquez admitted he had previously been deported from the U.S. and illegally reentered the country without the permission of the government. In March 2005 Vasquez-Vasquez was arrested in Florida on drug charges using an alias and was convicted in June 2005 of felony possession of cocaine and marijuana.

Vasquez-Vasquez was first removed to Mexico by immigration officials in October 2007. In January 2018, Vasquez-Vasquez was returned to Mexico after illegally reentering the U.S. He was again formally deported to Mexico in October 2018 following his arrest by immigration officers. On March 8, immigration officers learned Vasquez-Vasquez had illegally returned to the U.S. and found Vasquez-Vasquez at the Tama County Jail following his arrest on state charges.

Vasquez-Vasquez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams to 86 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Vasquez-Vasquez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt as a result of a targeted enforcement operation by ICE ERO.

Learn more about ICE’s ERO mission in your community on Twitter @EROSaintPaul.