Thread: Man deported twice this year gets jail, another deportation

Man deported twice this year gets jail, another deportation

3:08 AM, Sep 29, 2012 |


Written by Alex Harris
The Tennessean

A Mexican man who had previously been deported from the U.S. three times was sentenced Friday to six months in federal prison and then deportation for illegally entering the country.

Doroteo Rojas-Gonzales, 37, was previously discovered to be illegally in the country and deported with no criminal charges on three occasions since 2007, twice within a two-month period earlier this year.

He is married to a Nashville woman. She and their two children are legal citizens.

Rojas-Gonzales’ attorney, Michael Holley, from the Federal Public Defenders Office, requested a sentence of four months, or time served, because Rojas-Gonzales, who has no previous criminal record and had never been imprisoned before, had been gainfully employed as a painter in the area.

However, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger sentenced him to six months and subsequent expulsion, citing Rojas-Gonzales’ numerous previous attempts to enter the country illegally as an indication of his future actions.

Trauger said she felt the extra two months would serve as an additional deterrent to future attempts at illegal re-entry.

Trauger told Rojas-Gonzales that the next time he was before a court for illegal residence it would be much worse unless he returned with proper documentation and approval from the Department of Homeland Security.

However, considering Rojas-Gonzales’ history of illegal re-entry and the existence of this felony on his record, legal re-entry in the future is unlikely, Trauger said, while also acknowledging how “sad” it was that the U.S. immigration system seemed to favor those who already possess the means for a better life.

Rojas-Gonzales, who required a translator in court, said he plans to return to Mexico to work for his brother and save up money so that he can meet his family at the U.S.-Mexico border when his wife gets her yearly vacation.

Alex Harris is with Seigenthaler News Service-MTSU. He can be reached at alexander.harris.lf@gmail.com.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...er-deportation

Why doesn't his wife move with him?