Cases of illegal re-entry after deportation still on the rise in Oklahoma

So far this year, 10 illegal re-entry cases have been filed in federal court in Oklahoma City. On Jan. 5, 15 defendants were indicted, pleaded guilty, or were sentenced on charges of unlawful re-entry into the United States.

BY VALLERY BROWN
NewsOK
January 30, 2011

The stakes were high for a Honduran man as he sat in a patrol car after being pulled over for drunken driving.

Hector Mercado-Castellanos, 42, was in the United States illegally. He had returned to Oklahoma City after being deported in 2004 for three drunken driving convictions and attempting to elude a police officer.

His son, Hector Escalante, 18, ambushed Oklahoma City police officer Katie Lawson after she responded to the drunken driving call on Aug. 29, prosecutors say. The 28-year-old officer was shot several times with a semi-automatic rifle but survived.

Thursday, Mercado-Castellanos was sentenced in Oklahoma City federal court to 16 months in prison for re-entering the United States illegally after previously being deported. He is among a growing number of people who are being prosecuted for illegal re-entry after deportation.

Growing trend

So far this year, 10 illegal re-entry cases have been filed in federal court in Oklahoma City. On Jan. 5, a total of 15 defendants were indicted, pleaded guilty, or were sentenced on charges of unlawful re-entry into the United States.

In 2008, 13 were filed the entire year. That numbered jumped to 26 in 2009 and 54 last year.

Felons who unlawfully return to the country after being deported can face federal prison sentences of up to 10 years. Then, they're deported again. Violent felonies can drive sentences up to 20 years.

Federal prosecutors do not often lose these cases. In fact, most never make it to trial, said Bob Troester, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Oklahoma City.

“The fact that they're here is like ‘exhibit A,'â€