Jose Luis Cruz-Agustin, a 37-year-old resident of Pasco, Washington, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for illegally reentering the United States after being deported multiple times. The sentencing took place on October 2, 2025, before United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke. In addition to the prison term, Cruz-Agustin will serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration.
Court records show that Cruz-Agustin was arrested in March 2025 for Driving Under the Influence and booked into Franklin County jail. Immigration authorities later determined that he is a citizen and national of Mexico with previous convictions in Washington state for Rape in the Third Degree, Assault in the Third Degree with Substantial Pain, and Furnishing Liquor to a Minor. These charges were related to an incident in 2015 where Cruz-Agustin raped two 15-year-old girls after providing them alcohol. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison by a Washington state superior court and subsequently deported.
Further investigation revealed that Cruz-Agustin had also been convicted in 2014 for domestic violence offenses involving his then-girlfriend and her young child. According to reports, he chased her vehicle with his own while her child was present, blocked her path, dragged her from her car, assaulted her physically, and attempted sexual assault.
After returning unlawfully to the U.S. in September 2016, Cruz-Agustin was apprehended in Arizona and sentenced to 21 months for Unlawful Reentry After Deportation. He was deported again in March 2018 but reentered the country before March 2025.
Judge Dimke imposed the maximum sentence allowed under federal guidelines. During sentencing she stated this decision reflected "Cruz-Agustin’s history of violence against young girls and women in the Eastern District of Washington," as well as his repeated unlawful entries into the United States.
United States Attorney Pete Serrano commented: “While unlawfully present in the United States, Jose Luis Cruz-Agustin has terrorized and assaulted multiple minors and young women in the Eastern District of Washington. His conduct is unconscionable, as reflected by his sentence. I hope this sentence sends a message with similar intentions: do not conduct yourself this way in Eastern Washington; such behavior is not tolerated here.”
ICE ERO Seattle acting Field Office Director Laura Hermosillo added: “Unlawful reentry after removal is a federal offense, and Cruz’s sentence reflects the seriousness of that crime,” continuing: “This criminal illegal alien and convicted rapist is exactly the kind of public-safety threat we prioritize in our daily immigration enforcement actions —the worst of the worst. He remains in custody and is facing removal, and ICE will keep working to protect the American people and uphold the rule of law.”
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laurel J. Holland.
