Texas man sentenced in Iowa to 9 months in federal prison for harboring an illegal alien

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A south Texas man was sentenced in federal court Monday to nine months in prison for harboring an illegal alien.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Iowa Department of Transportation, and the Iowa sheriff’s offices of Fayette, Winneshiek and Bremer counties.

Roman Sanchez, 33, from Mission, Texas, was sentenced to nine months in federal prison on one count of harboring, encouraging or otherwise inducing an alien to reside illegally in the United States. Sanchez admitted his guilt in a plea agreement, which he signed Sept. 18, 2014.

In his plea agreement, Sanchez admitted that between March and April 2014 he recruited a Mexican citizen to work and reside in the United States, knowing that this person was not authorized to live or work in the country.  Sanchez employed him to build and tear down grain bins in Texas and Iowa.

In addition to his prison term Sanchez must also pay a $2,000 fine, pay $500 in restitution, and pay $2,000 in legal fees. He must also pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund. Sanchez‘s prison sentence will be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Sanchez was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service Jan. 26.