Deported illegal immigrants who return to U.S. face prison time
November 20, 2008

U.S. immigration officials said illegal immigrants who have been deported previously will face up to five years in prison if caught again.

BY KETTY RODRIGUEZ
El Nuevo Herald

Illegal immigrants now face a maximum of five years in prison if they return to the United States after having been deported by immigration authorities.

''People who return after having been deported from the country need to know that they are committing a federal crime and they can be arrested, detained and put in jail,'' said Nicole Navas, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami.

In a press statement released Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced the case of two Mexican citizens in Palm Beach County who pleaded guilty to entering the country illegally after being previously deported.

Enrique Espino Hernandez, 37, was deported in May 2008 after being convicted of cocaine possession. On Friday, he pleaded guilty of reentering the United States illegally and faces up to five years in prison.

In the second case, Fausto Jaimes Santibañez, 46, pleaded guilty Friday to three offenses: possessing a firearm and having been involved in a shooting, which carries up to 10 years in prison; returning illegally to the United States (up to two years in prison); and lying to immigration authorities (up to three years). The statement didn't say when he was previously deported.

Both men have sentencing dates next January.

ICE officials said they wanted to remind undocumented immigrants of the consequences of reentering the country illegally.

''Entering the U.S. after having been deported is a serious crime,'' said Anthony V. Mangione, head of the ICE Office of Investigations in Miami.

``We will continue working with our partners at a local and state level to identify and prosecute people who have been previously deported and have returned illegally.''

A record 300,000 people have been deported this year, upsetting immigrant-advocacy groups that want the law to be changed.

Activists oppose the deportations of workers and parents who do not have prior criminal records, and have asked both the Bush administration and President-elect Barack Obama to stop further raids by ICE.

The reform sought by activists would legalize about 12 million illegal immigrants who live in the United States if they can fulfill certain requirements and have not committed any crimes.

Critics of the proposed reform call it a form of amnesty for people who entered the country illegally.


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