A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to eight months in federal prison.
Jose Cruz-Medio, age 48, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Postville, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 4, 2019, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.
At the guilty plea, Cruz-Medio admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Cruz-Medio was deported in September 2009 and November 2013.
Cruz-Medio’s second deportation was subsequent to a September 2013 conviction in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa for illegal reentry of a deported alien, a felony. Cruz-Medio also has a prior conviction in Wright County, Iowa, in 2009 for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Cruz-Medio most recently came to the attention of immigration agents in September 2019 following his arrest in Allamakee County, Iowa, for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. This case is still pending.
Cruz-Medio was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Cruz-Medio was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Cruz-Medio is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-CR-123.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
