Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Illegally Reentering the United States

The following press release was published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys on April 16, 2018. It is reproduced in full below.

Defendant had a felony child abuse conviction in Florida and a prior removal

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Alan Lopez-Salazar pled guilty to the felony offense of Reentry of a Removed Alien, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Mr. Lopez-Salazar, 29, of Mexico, faces up to 10 years of incarceration, a 250,000 dollar fine, supervised release for three years, and a special assessment when he is sentenced on May 21, 2018 by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers. He also faces removal proceedings at the conclusion of any sentence of incarceration. United States Attorney Mike Stuart praised the work of the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We are committed to prosecuting every single individual who enters the United States illegally," said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Legally entering the United States is not complicated. Get in line and follow the rules, and if you don’t, we’re sending you back home."

On Jan. 31, 2018, Mr. Lopez-Salazar was arrested by the Cabell County Sheriff’s department for disturbing the peace and destruction of property. After giving a Mexican identification document, ICE agents were contacted and responded to the scene. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents confirmed that Mr. Lopez-Salazar was not in the United States legally and he was taken into federal custody. Fingerprints taken from the defendant matched him to a felony conviction and a prior removal in 2011. The felony conviction occurred on Aug. 23, 2011 in Collier County, Florida where, defendant was convicted of felony child abuse. After this conviction Mr. Lopez-Salazar was removed from the United States on Oct. 11, 2011 Mr. Lopez-Salazar then reentered the United States without legal permission from the Secretary of Homeland Security. Mr. Lopez-Salazar is a citizen of Mexico.

Assistant United States Attorneys Erik S. Goes and Stephanie Taylor are handling the prosecution.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys