Convicted armed robber gets 13 months for illegally re-entering US

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Mexican national previously convicted of attempted armed robbery in Illinois was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison Monday after pleading guilty to a felony charge of illegally re-entering the United States following a prior removal. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested the man Aug. 20 following his initial arrest by the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department.

Following the completion of his sentence, Juventino Carrasco-Perez, 45, will be transferred to ERO custody for removal from the country.

According to court documents, Carrasco-Perez was previously sentenced to four years in prison following a 1988 attempted armed robbery conviction in Illinois. ERO officers subsequently removed Carrasco-Perez from the country in 1990 following his release from prison. They removed him a second time in 1999 after he attempted to illegally re-enter the country near El Paso, Texas.

"Violent felons who repeatedly disregard our nation's laws and borders pose a significant threat to law-abiding residents everywhere," said Michael W. Meade, acting field office director of ERO New Orleans. "This case illustrates the close cooperation of federal, state and local law enforcement to carry out ICE's main focus, which is identifying and removing violent criminals and egregious immigration law violators who pose the greatest threat to public safety."

Meade oversees ERO activities in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

In fiscal year 2013, ICE conducted 368,644 removals nationwide. Nearly 60 percent of ICE's total removals had been previously convicted of a criminal offense; 82 percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States were previously convicted of a criminal offense.

In addition to convicted criminals, the agency's enforcement priorities include those apprehended while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States, illegal re-entrants – individuals who returned to the United States after being previously removed by ICE – and immigration fugitives. In fiscal year 2013, 98 percent of ICE removals met these priorities – a record high.