Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A Mexican citizen residing in Iowa has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after previous felony convictions related to immigration offenses.
Jesus Banuelos-Lepe, 49, pleaded guilty on September 30, 2025, to one count of illegal re-entry as a felon. At the time of his arrest, he was under federal supervised release following a 2023 conviction for illegal re-entry. His supervised release terms specifically prohibited him from returning to the United States or committing new law violations.
The sentencing took place on February 18, 2026, and combined penalties for both his recent conviction and violations of his earlier supervised release. According to court records, Banuelos-Lepe admitted that on July 20, 2025, he was arrested in Sioux County, Iowa. Authorities found him passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle after consuming twelve beers. Upon arrest and booking into the Sioux County Jail, he provided an alias. Further investigation revealed his true identity as Banuelos-Lepe and confirmed that he had been removed from the United States five times without legal permission to return.
Banuelos-Lepe’s criminal history includes a federal felony conviction in April 2007 for transporting an illegal alien in Oregon. In that case, he smuggled two individuals from Mexico into the United States and held one against their will pending additional smuggling fees.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Banuelos-Lepe in Sioux City to two consecutive sentences: twenty-four months for the latest illegal re-entry conviction and another twenty-four months for violating conditions of supervised release from his prior offense. This results in a total of four years’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. Federal law does not allow parole.
Banuelos-Lepe remains in custody with the United States Marshals Service until transfer to a federal prison facility.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), an initiative by the Department of Justice designed to combat illegal immigration and organized crime by coordinating resources from programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
