Three men have been sentenced in Philadelphia federal court for illegally reentering the United States after being previously deported, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney David Metcalf.
Bernardino Reyes-Gutierrez, 42, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, received a sentence of 58 months in prison from United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez on Thursday. After serving his sentence, he will be removed from the country again. Reyes-Gutierrez had earlier been deported in February 2016 following a drug conviction in Philadelphia County and reentered the U.S. at an unknown time before his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in September 2023. He pleaded guilty to illegal reentry in April.
Aneudy Orlando Otanez, 44, also from the Dominican Republic, was sentenced by United States District Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg to time served—almost seven months—for illegal reentry. He had previously been removed from the U.S. in March 2022 but returned without authorization at an unspecified date. ICE detained him in January after discovering his presence in Philadelphia; he was indicted for illegal reentry in February and pleaded guilty this July.
Vincente Perez-Morales, 24, a Mexican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to time served—almost four months—for illegally returning to the U.S. after removal in October 2019 when encountered by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Texas. ICE took custody of Perez-Morales this May after learning that he had been arrested earlier this year by Pennsylvania State Police in Chester County; he pleaded guilty this week.
All three cases are part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and targeting criminal organizations involved with violent crime and drug trafficking through coordinated efforts of Department of Justice programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
“These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).”
The investigations were led by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations with prosecutions handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Livermore, Rosalynda Michetti, and Ashley Martin.
