Andrew M. Luger, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota
A Mexican national has admitted to illegally reentering the United States after a previous conviction for an aggravated felony, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.
Court documents reveal that Jonathan Chavez-Galarza, aged 28, was deported from the U.S. on July 15, 2020, after his 2018 conviction in Hennepin County for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Chavez-Galarza was found guilty of stabbing a victim multiple times with a knife and served a 36-month prison sentence before his removal. On December 20, 2022, he was deported again following a conviction in the Southern District of Texas for illegal reentry. Despite this last removal to Mexico, Chavez-Galarza unlawfully returned to the U.S., where he was seen near his Minneapolis residence and around the Twin Cities Metro Area beginning May 24, 2024.
Chavez-Galarza entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court before Judge Donovan W. Frank on one count of illegal reentry after committing an aggravated felony.
The case resulted from an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Green is handling the prosecution.
