CEDAR RAPIDS – A Mexican man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to three months in federal prison.
Fernando Garcia-Guerrero, age 35, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Williamsburg, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea on February 14, 2022, to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.
At the guilty plea, Garcia-Guerrero admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Garcia-Guerrero was deported to Mexico by immigration officials in March 2005. He claimed to have illegally re-entered the United States by wading across the Rio Grande River near Hidalgo, Texas, in August 2005. In August 2017, Garcia-Guerrero was deported to Mexico following his arrest on state charges in Texas. In September 2017, Garcia-Guerrero was caught by immigration officials in the Rio Grande Valley near Hidalgo, Texas and was again deported to Mexico. On January 12, 2022, immigration officials learned Garcia-Guerrero had illegally returned to the United States and found Garcia-Guerrero at the Iowa County Jail following his arrest on state charges.
Garcia-Guerrero was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Garcia-Guerrero was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Garcia-Guerrero is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.
