Gulfport, Miss. - Oscar A. Fajardo, 50, a legal permanent resident in the United States and a citizen of El Salvador, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., to transporting an illegal alien within the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, and Gregory K. Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.
Fajardo is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Guirola on Nov. 12, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and special assessments that could total $5,100. Fajardo also will face Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings and potential loss of his Legal Permanent Resident status.
On March 26, 2019, in Jackson County, Mississippi, a South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team agent stopped a vehicle on Interstate 10 eastbound for a traffic violation. The agent initiated the traffic stop while calling for back-up, and a U.S. Border Patrol Agent arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. The Border Patrol Agent made contact with the driver of the vehicle, identified as Oscar A. Fajardo. The agent identified himself as a Border Patrol Agent, and learned that Mr. Fajardo is a legally admitted permanent resident alien to the United States, who is a citizen of El Salvador.
Fajardo and his passenger, Andres Barrientos-Flores, were traveling from Houston, Texas, to Virginia. Barrientos Flores, also a citizen of El Salvador, was determined to be an illegal alien to the United States who had been previously removed from the United States. Barrientos-Flores was separately prosecuted and pled guilty to unlawful return by an alien after removal.
U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the cooperation exhibited by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, United States Border Patrol, and by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
