Mexican illegal, drunk and seeking a prostitute, nabbed in Iowa and sent to prison

CEDAR RAPIDS – A twice-deported Mexican alien who illegally returned to the United States was sentenced to three months in federal prison and could be sent back south of the Rio Grande.

Luis Ronaldo Lopez-Lopez, age 24, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Arcadia, Florida, received the prison term after a September 12, 2023, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.

At the guilty plea, Lopez-Lopez 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-Lopez was previously deported in December 2017 and January 2018. On August 13, 2023, immigration officials learned Lopez-Lopez had illegally returned to the United States and found Lopez-Lopez at the Dubuque County Jail following his arrest on state charges for public intoxication and soliciting prostitution. Those charges are still pending. Lopez-Lopez had been residing in a Dubuque hotel while illegally working in the area. Lopez-Lopez had previously been convicted in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico of illegal entry into the United States in December 2017.

Lopez-Lopez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Lopez-Lopez was sentenced to 90 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.

Lopez-Lopez 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 the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.