Omar Acosta-Ruiz, Illegally Reentering the United States, Iowa 2020

Grimy Times has learned that a man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported two times has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. Omar Acosta-Ruiz, age 35, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Tama, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea on June 29, 2020, to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported following a conviction for a felony.

Acosta-Ruiz was first deported in August 2009. He was also deported in March 2017 following a conviction in the Northern District of Iowa for illegal reentry, a felony. On May 29, 2020, Acosta-Ruiz was convicted in Tama County, Iowa, of false imprisonment and assault causing bodily injury. He also has Iowa convictions for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in 2008 and operating a motor vehicle while barred in 2015.

In addition to the prison term, Acosta-Ruiz was sentenced to a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Acosta-Ruiz 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 Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

According to court records, Acosta-Ruiz illegally used the Social Security number of U.S. citizens when he completed employment forms in September 2010 at a business in Sibley, Iowa, and in December 2018 at a business in Malcom, Iowa. Acosta-Ruiz illegally worked at the business in Malcom until his arrest on April 25, 2020, in Tama County, Iowa, on the false imprisonment and assault causing bodily injury charges.

Grimy Times has reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for further comment and will provide an update as more information becomes available.

The case file number is 20-CR-42. Court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

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