CEDAR RAPIDS – A six-time deported illegal Mexican alien who was caught drunk driving in Iowa was sentenced y to more than two months in federal prison.
Roberto Medina-Soto (pictured at top), age 39, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Shullsburg, Wisconsin, received the prison term after a July 10, 2024, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.
At the guilty plea, Medina-Soto admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Medina-Soto was previously deported in March 2020, April 2020, and four times in October 2020. On April 29, 2024, immigration officials learned Medina-Soto had illegally returned to the United States and found Medina-Soto at the Dubuque County Jail following his arrest on state charges for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI). On June 20, 2024, Medina-Soto was convicted in state court of OWI and sentenced to 50 days of imprisonment.
Medina-Soto was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Medina-Soto was sentenced to 75 days of imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Medina-Soto 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.