Gulfport, Miss. - A Guatemalan national pleaded guilty to unlawful return of an alien after removal, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Jason E. Schneider, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.
According to court documents, Julio Pablo-Chan, 39, of Guatemala, was arrested on Feb. 26, 2020, on Interstate 10 in Jackson County. An agent of the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team (SMMET) conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Pablo-Chan, who did not have a driver’s license. The deputy requested assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol and a Border Patrol Agent responded on-site. The agent informed Pablo-Chan that due to his immigration history, and the fact that he did have proper immigration documents to enter, pass through or remain in the U.S. legally, he was being placed under arrest.
Pablo-Chan was transported to the Gulfport Border Patrol Station, where an agent with Homeland Security Investigations joined the investigation. Pablo-Chan’s identity was positively confirmed and records revealed that Pablo-Chan had illegally entered the United States and been removed from the United States back to his home nation of Guatemala in August 2011 and again in December 2018.
Pablo-Chan pleaded guilty to unlawful return of an alien after removal, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 26, 2021. He faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. After completing any sentence of incarceration, he also could face Homeland Security proceedings to remove him again from the United States. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
