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Mexican national sentenced for illegal re-entry

MADISON, Wis. — A previously deported Mexican national was sentenced this week to more than four years in prison for illegally reentering the United States after deportation. The sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

David Mendoza-Guzman, 42, a Mexican national, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb, Western District of Wisconsin, to 57 months in prison for illegally reentering the United States after having been deported. He pleaded guilty to the charge July 18. Reentering the United States after being formally deported is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Mendoza-Guzman was previously removed from the United States May 27, 2003. After his deportation, Mendoza-Guzman returned to the United States without permission. On March 25 he was arrested by ERO Fugitive Operations Team officers outside his residence in Alma Center, Wis.

Mendoza-Guzman's 57-month sentence was based in large part on his continued criminal activity while in the United States. His prior criminal conduct includes, among other crimes, a drug trafficking conviction, a 4th degree sexual assault conviction, and a resisting arrest conviction where the defendant got out of his vehicle after a traffic stop and confronted officers with vulgar language and threats.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Munish Sharda, Western District of Wisconsin, prosecuted the case.