A Mexican citizen, Juan Jose Carrasco Cardenas, 39, has been charged with illegally reentering the United States after previously being deported. The announcement was made by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Carrasco was first encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in January 2002 and voluntarily returned to Mexico. In May 2009, he was again found entering the country illegally in Arizona. He was charged with improper entry of an alien in the District of Arizona, sentenced to five days in prison, and voluntarily returned to Mexico in June 2009.
In January 2018, Carrasco was arrested in Saline County, Kansas on charges related to marijuana trafficking. He was convicted of a state marijuana distribution offense and sentenced to 30 months in jail before being removed to Mexico in October 2019.
Carrasco was arrested by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations on August 27, 2025, in Meriden. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and is currently detained.
If convicted of unlawful reentry, Carrasco faces up to ten years in prison.
"U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
The investigation is being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel is prosecuting the case.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America, which aims to use Department of Justice resources against illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations through coordinated efforts such as OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhood.
