CEDAR RAPIDS – This illegal alien from Guatemala who armed himself with a gun, went to prison, was sent south, and then came back to Iowa to drive drunk is facing prison and likely another deportation.
Pablo Perez-Chavez, age 24, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced January 24, 2025, to one year in federal prison after an August 29, 2024, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported following a conviction for an aggravated felony.
At the guilty plea, Perez-Chavez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Perez-Chavez was convicted in January 2023 in the Northern District of Iowa of possession of a firearm by an alien, served 10 months’ imprisonment and placed on a three-year term of supervised release before being deported in May 2023. On July 15, 2024, immigration officials learned Perez-Chavez had illegally returned to the United States after Perez-Chavez reported to the Linn County Jail to serve a state OWI sentence. Perez-Chavez was also charged with violating the terms of his supervised release by reentering the United States without permission.
Perez-Chavez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Perez-Chavez was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Perez-Chavez was also sentenced to four months’ imprisonment to be served consecutively for violating the terms of his supervised release on his prior firearm conviction. There is no parole in the federal system.
Perez-Chavez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
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.