Cesar Ruben Yllescas, a 52-year-old citizen of Peru, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with unlawful reentry of a removed alien, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut David X. Sullivan announced on Mar. 27.
The case highlights ongoing efforts to address repeat illegal entry into the United States by individuals previously convicted of various offenses. According to court documents, Yllescas was arrested and convicted multiple times between 1995 and 2015 in Connecticut and Massachusetts for crimes including narcotics offenses, threatening, assault, failure to appear in court, and illegal operation of a motor vehicle.
Yllescas was first deported to Peru in June 2016 but later returned illegally to the U.S., where he was again convicted in federal court for unlawful reentry. He received a ten-month prison sentence in December 2019 before being deported once more in May 2020.
Authorities allege that Yllescas illegally entered the country again. On March 20, he was arrested by West Springfield Police Department on motor vehicle-related charges and an outstanding warrant related to probation violation from 2015. After being released on bond from state custody, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested him on March 23 in West Springfield.
Yllescas appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford and is currently detained pending further proceedings. If found guilty of unlawful reentry, he faces up to twenty years imprisonment.
Sullivan said: "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 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative utilizing Department of Justice resources aimed at combating illegal immigration as well as eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
