CEDAR RAPIDS – A man who illegally re-entered the United States from Mexico was sentenced February 27, 2015, to 7 months in in federal prison.
Christian Vargas-Ortiz, age 22, from Mexico, received the prison term after a November 6, 2014, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry as an aggravated felon.
At the guilty plea, Vargas-Ortiz admitted he had re-entered the United States without permission after being removed from the country on May 30, 2014. On November 6, 2013, Vargas-Ortiz was convicted of identity theft and forgery in the Iowa District Court for Sioux County. Vargas-Ortiz came to the attention of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after he was arrested on August 22, 2014, in Sioux County, Iowa for driving while license barred.
Vargas-Ortiz was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Vargas-Ortiz was sentenced to 7 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Vargas-Ortiz is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and investigated by HSI and the Enforcement and Removal Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.
