One of ICE's "most wanted" aliens indicted for illegally re-entering the US following deportation

LOS ANGELES – A Belizean national on the list of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) most wanted deportable aliens charged in federal court last month with illegal re-entry into the United States following his deportation – a felony.

Santos Moreira, 46, a citizen of Belize illegally present in the United States, was found in Los Angeles County on November 2, 2015, according to an indictment returned against him on January 25 by a federal grand jury.

The case is the result of an investigation by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Los Angeles.

Moreira is charged with re-entering and remaining in the United States knowingly and voluntarily without having obtained permission from the United States Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission into the United States following deportation.

According to the indictment, he was previously deported on three separate occasions – in December 1995, September 1999 and October 2010.

Moreira’s criminal history includes a 1991 Los Angeles Superior Court conviction for possession for sale of cocaine, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison and a 1992 Los Angeles Superior Court conviction for second-degree robbery with an enhancement for personally using a firearm. For that offense, he was sentenced to five years in state prison.

Moreira is currently incarcerated at a Texas state prison for a 2018 drug-related conviction. He is expected to be brought to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to face the federal illegal re-entry charge in the coming months. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

This matter is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle J. Ryan of the General Crimes section.