C.B.P. News Release

3 Criminal Aliens Sentenced for Repeated Reentries

Felons had Prior Convictions in New York and Pennsylvania

(Tuesday, April 28, 2009)

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Last Friday, San Juan Federal District Court Judge Daniel Dominguez sentenced three Dominican aliens for repeated attempts to enter illegally into the United States.

Alfredo Difo, from Nagua, will serve a 30-month prison term and a three year supervised release term for attempted illegal reentry as a previously deported aggravated felon. Difo was intercepted along with other 87 migrants onboard a makeshift vessel approximately five miles southwest of Rincon, Puerto Rico on November 4, 2008.

Biometric verification of prior immigration records by the US Border Patrol confirmed that in 2003, Difo served a 23-month prison term in Pennsylvania, for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. In January 2004, Difo was deported to the Dominican Republic as an aggravated felon. His record also showed a 2001 warrant for failure to appear to a Springfield, Mass., court for narcotics charges.

Juan Esteban Sanchez-Marte, from San Pedro de Macoris, sentenced to serve 12 months of imprisonment and a 3-year supervised release term for attempted illegal reentry as a previously deported felon; was one of 22 migrants onboard a makeshift vessel intercepted approximately 12 miles west of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico on November 8, 2008.

Sanchez-Marte’s first deportation occurred in June 2000, after serving time in Puerto Rico for fraud and misuse of a visa. He was again arrested by the Border Patrol in 2004 after attempting to reenter illegally and served a 10-month prison term, subsequently deported for a second time in November 2005.

Francisco Feliz-Feliz, from Santo Domingo, received a six-month prison term and a three year supervised release for attempting to enter along with 57 migrants onboard a yawl intercepted approximately 12 miles southeast of Mona Island, Puerto Rico on October 28, 2008.

A biometrics check by Border Patrol identified Feliz-Feliz as having prior immigration encounters, in particular, a 1999 conviction, in New York, for violation of a protection order and criminal possession of a weapon. He was subsequently deported in 2003, to the Dominican Republic, as an aggravated felon.

This successful prosecution demonstrates an efficient joint working effort by federal agencies on the island to secure operational control against alien felons who attempt to penetrate U.S. borders. As the U.S. Border Patrol scales up enforcement and interdiction efforts, it relies on inter agency cooperation to enforce immigration and criminal law in United State’s territorial waters.

Within the current fiscal year to date, the Ramey Border Patrol Sector has apprehended 290 aliens, 153 of which have been prosecuted for immigration law violations.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Contacts For This News Release
Jeffrey Quinones
CBP Public Affairs
Phone: (787) 607-2689

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2009_2.xml