U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Ismael Efrain Lopez-Bautista, a 43-year-old Guatemalan citizen, on March 11 in Vineland, New Jersey, for illegal reentry after deportation. Previously convicted of vehicular homicide, Lopez-Bautista is now facing prosecution in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge at ICE Homeland Security Investigations Newark, stated, "Our Cherry Hill office, with support from our federal partners, ensured this criminal alien was held accountable for reentering the United States illegally after deportation." He added that assistance from the FBI and DEA supports their comprehensive approach to immigration enforcement.
Lopez-Bautista's legal troubles began when he was arrested by the Vineland Police Department on October 31, 2012. He was charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death and driving while intoxicated. The Superior Court of New Jersey sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment on May 30, 2014.
An immigration judge ordered his removal from the United States on May 2, 2019, which ICE executed on May 16 of that year. However, Lopez-Bautista attempted to reenter the country illegally near Nogales, Arizona, where he was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol on August 7, 2020. Subsequently sentenced to 15 months for illegal reentry by the U.S. District Court in Arizona on January 7, 2021, he was removed again by ICE on May 25, 2022.
According to an ICE investigation, Lopez-Bautista illegally entered the United States once more in December 2023 through Arizona and resided in Vineland before his recent arrest. A criminal arrest warrant was obtained from the U.S. District Court for New Jersey leading to his detention.
Lopez-Bautista has been transferred into U.S. Marshals Service custody pending prosecution for illegal reentry and an immigration detainer has been lodged against him.
