Alberto Silva-Garcia, Illegal Re-Entry, Connecticut 2017

A northerly crime spree has come to an end after a Norwalk man was sentenced to 15 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States. Alberto Silva-Garcia, 46, was handed the sentence by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer in New Haven on today.

Silva-Garcia was deported from the U.S. to his native Mexico in March 1999 after being convicted of domestic violence in California. However, the defendant was encountered multiple times in California by immigration agents between March 1999 and April 2004. During this period, he was twice apprehended in custody following a controlled substance violation, and on several other occasions after being caught at the U.S. border for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship.

On 11 documented occasions, Silva-Garcia was removed to Mexico by foot. In August 2009, he was arrested for motor vehicle offenses in Norwalk. He was subsequently charged with illegal re-entry in U.S. District Court in Connecticut and was sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment. In December 2010, Silva-Garcia was again removed to Mexico.

The defendant’s crimes did not end there. In March 2015, Silva-Garcia was charged with larceny and burglary offenses in superior court in Norwalk. The charges stemmed from a crime spree involving the theft of construction tools and equipment from job sites and parked construction vehicles. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of incarceration.

Silva-Garcia has been detained in ICE custody since October 2016. On January 30, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien. This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Slater.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Deirdre M. Daly, announced the sentence today. Daly noted that Silva-Garcia’s repeated crimes would not be tolerated by the U.S. government. ‘Silva-Garcia’s repeated violations of our nation’s immigration laws and his disregard for the orders of immigration officials demonstrate a blatant disregard for the rule of law,’ Daly stated.

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