CEDAR RAPIDS – A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced this week to almost three months in federal prison.
Hilario Vicente-Vargas, age 29, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 14, 2019, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.
At the guilty plea, Vicente-Vargas admitted he had previously been deported from the United States in March 2017 and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Vicente-Vargas was found by immigration agents in November 2018 after he was charged in Linn County, Iowa, with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI). Vicente-Vargas was arrested for OWI on February 12, 2017, and on November 5, 2018. Vicente-Vargas was convicted of OWI in both cases on December 31, 2018.
Vicente-Vargas was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C. J. Williams. Vicente-Vargas was sentenced to 86 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Vicente-Vargas 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 and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
