Mexican national sentenced in Wisconsin for illegally re-entering US

MADISON, Wis. — A convicted criminal from Mexico, who was previously deported from the United States four times, was sentenced Friday to 40 months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States.

This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Miguel Arreola-Avila, 39, was sentenced Sept. 19 by U.S. District Judge William Conley, Western District of Wisconsin, to 40 months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported. Arreola-Avila pleaded guilty to this charge July 16.

Between August 2006 and December 2009, while Arreola-Avila was living illegally in the United States, he was convicted of battery, criminal trespass to a dwelling, disorderly conduct, intimidating a victim, and failure to report to jail. Arreola-Avila was previously deported from the United States on four occasions, the last time being in March 2012 after completing a 27-month federal prison sentence in Texas for illegally re-entering the United States after being deported.

On April 4, 2013, Arreola-Avila was arrested by the Evanston (Illinois) Police Department for traffic infractions. On Nov. 7, 2013, he was arrested by the Wisconsin State Patrol for possession of methamphetamine. Arreola-Avila was convicted of possession of methamphetamine Feb. 21 in Columbia County, Wisconsin and sentenced to 140 days in jail. On March 21, he was indicted in the Western District of Wisconsin of illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation, based on his April 2013 arrest in Illinois.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger, Western District of Wisconsin, prosecuted the case.