Two Illegal Aliens, Re-Entry into U.S., Louisiana 2018

LAKE CHARLES, La. – Two Mexican nationals have pleaded guilty to re-entering the United States after being previously removed.

Bartolo Marquez-Cantera, 36, of Mexico, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. Marquez-Cantera was arrested on March 28, 2018, in Allen Parish. After reviewing his record, he was found to have been removed from the United States on four previous occasions with the most recent removal being on October 6, 2011.

Marquez-Cantera faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. United States Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.

Sergio Garcia-Mateo, 30, of Mexico, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. Garcia-Mateo was questioned by U.S. Border Patrol agents during a traffic stop on a vehicle containing nine people on February 21, 2018, near Lake Charles. Garcia-Mateo was found to be in the United States illegally after having been removed from the country in March of 2014, February of 2017, and January of 2018.

Garcia-Mateo faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation.

Jose Salvador Meza-Vasquez, 28, of Mexico, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. Meza-Vasquez was arrested by a Cameron Parish Sheriff’s deputy on March 12, 2018, for a traffic infraction. He admitted to the deputy that he was in the United States illegally. After reviewing his record, agents discovered he had been removed from the United States in 2010 and had not received permission to re-enter the country.

Meza-Vasquez faces up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. United States Border Patrol and the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

The court set the defendants’ sentencing hearings for October 1, 2018. United States Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay presided over the hearings. The pleas will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla/pr/illegal-aliens-mexico-plead-guilty-reentering-united-states