Gulfport, Miss. - Jose Manuel Cristobal-Joaquin, 33, an illegal alien from Mexico, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. to unlawful reentry by an alien after removal, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, and Scott Sutterfield, Acting Field Office Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations in New Orleans.
Cristobal-Joaquin was found guilty of the felony offense and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Guirola on Oct. 16, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of 2 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also faces being removed from the United States following the completion of any prison sentence.
On or about May 29, 2019, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office notified Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) that Cristobal-Joaquin had been arrested by the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team for public drunk and a misdemeanor controlled substance possession. Cristobal-Joaquin confessed to being an illegal alien from Mexico in an interview with ICE/Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO). Cristobal-Joaquin was arrested by ERO and transported to the Gulfport ICE Office.
Further investigation revealed that Cristobal-Joaquin had been physically removed from the United States pursuant to a lawful removal order on or about Nov. 2, 2018, and did not have permission to reenter the United States.
U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the cooperation exhibited by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement Removal Operations, and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for this case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
