U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo has announced that Isaias Fernando Diego-Lucas, a 40-year-old Guatemalan citizen, has pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry into the United States. The plea was made before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr., and Diego-Lucas was sentenced to time served and handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sasha Mascarenhas, who managed the case, explained that Diego-Lucas does not have legal status in the country. In February 2012, he was deported from the United States. On February 24, 2025, he was discovered in Chautauqua County as a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Department of Homeland Security agents. During this encounter, Diego-Lucas presented a Guatemalan Identification Consular card.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative aiming to combat illegal immigration and dismantle cartels and transnational criminal organizations while safeguarding communities from violent crime perpetrators.
The investigation leading to the plea and sentencing involved Homeland Security Investigations led by Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan; Immigration, Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations under Acting Field Office Director Steven Kurzdorfer; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation directed by Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia.
