Gulfport, Miss. - Eugenio Delgado-Rivera, 48, an illegal alien from Mexico, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., to the federal crime of unlawfully re-entering the United States as an illegal alien having been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Joseph A. Banco Jr., Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.
Delgado-Rivera was found guilty of the offense and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden on June 5, 2018. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
On Dec. 28, 2017, a rented Nissan Altima which Delgado-Rivera was driving, was stopped by a member of the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team on Interstate-10 in Jackson County, Mississippi, for speeding. Delgado-Rivera did not have a driver’s license and provided a Mexican identification document with a different name. The U.S. Border Patrol was notified, and a Border Patrol Agent responded to the scene.
Delgado-Rivera admitted that he was illegally present in the United States. Official record checks revealed that he had been previously ordered removed by a U.S. Immigration Judge, and had been physically removed from the United States on October 5, 2000. Thereafter, Delgado-Rivera unlawfully returned to the United States, and, in 2007, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Delgado-Rivera’s prior conviction qualified as an aggravated felony and, after serving time in federal prison, he was again removed from the United States on April 21, 2009. Prior record checks determined that Delgado-Rivera had used, or been known by, over 10 different names during his time illegally present in the United States.
"Those who have violated our immigration laws and continue to do so with impunity will be met by this office with swift prosecution and punishment. If drug dealers like this defendant continue to cross our borders illegally, we will have a jail cell waiting for them when they arrive.
Such arrogant disregard for our laws will not be tolerated, as we will do all we can to protect our country and our people," said U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Gautier Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
