CEDAR RAPIDS – A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to almost three months in federal prison.
Ramon Garcia-Cruz, age 41, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 18, 2023, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.
At the guilty plea, Garcia-Cruz 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-Cruz was first removed from the United States in October 2014. Garcia-Cruz was also deported in March 2015 following his February 2015 conviction in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas for illegal entry into the United States. On November 14, 2023, immigration officials learned Garcia-Cruz had illegally returned to the United States and found Garcia-Cruz at the Linn County Jail following his arrest on state charges.
Garcia-Cruz was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Garcia-Cruz 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.
Garcia-Cruz 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.
