Guatemalan man sentenced for illegal re-entry after removal

ORLANDO, Fla. – A Guatemalan man was sentenced Tuesday to eight months in federal prison for illegal re-entry into the United States following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.

According to court documents, Guillermo Lucas-Mazariegos, 31, of Guatemala, was previously removed from the United States to Guatemala in April 2008 and September 2010, and was also previously removed from the United States to Mexico in April 2011. On June 16, 2016, ERO deportation officers encountered him at the Seminole County Jail where he was being held on local charges.

In addition to his illegal re-entry into the United States, Lucas-Mazariegos has prior criminal convictions including driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, and illegal entry into the United States. Lucas-Mazariegos had not requested permission to re-enter the United States after his last deportation.

This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Christina R. Downes, on assignment from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE, with the office of U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, Middle District of Florida.

In fiscal 2015, ICE removed or returned 235,413 individuals. Of this total, 165,935 were apprehended while, or shortly after, attempting to illegally enter the United States. The remaining 69,478 were apprehended in the interior of the United States, and the vast majority of these were convicted criminals who fell within ICE's civil immigration enforcement priorities. Ninety-eight percent of ICE's fiscal 2015 removals and returns fell into one or more of ICE's civil immigration enforcement priorities, with 86 percent falling in Priority 1 and 8 percent in Priority 2.