CEDAR RAPIDS – An illegal alien from Guatemala living in Northern Iowa has been sentenced to prison for re-entering the USA.
A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced on January 3, 2023, to six months in federal prison.
Miguel Jose Lopez-Garcia, age 23, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Postville, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 1, 2022, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.
At the guilty plea, Lopez-Garcia admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Lopez-Garcia was previously deported in March 2020. On June 13, 2022, immigration officials learned Lopez-Garcia had illegally returned to the United States and found Lopez-Garcia at the Allamakee County Jail following his arrest on state charges. On September 14, 2022, Lopez-Garcia went into federal custody following his conviction in Iowa District Court for Sexual Abuse, Third Degree, and Operating While Intoxicated, First Offense.
Lopez-Garcia was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Lopez-Garcia was sentenced to six 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.
Lopez-Garcia is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
