Illegal Alien From Guatemala Receives Sentence for Illegal Re-Entry

Baltimore, Maryland - A Guatemalan illegal alien was sentenced in federal court today to 18 months in prison, for illegally re-entering the United States.

Edgar David Vasquez-Garcia, 34, pled guilty to the charge after he was previously deported from the U.S. in July 2014. He never sought nor obtained the consent of the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of Homeland Security to apply for re-admission.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Acting Field Office Director Vernon Liggins, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE-ERO) - Baltimore Field Office.

In October 2023, Vasquez-Garcia law enforcement arrested Vasquez-Garcia in Edgewood, Maryland, on second-degree assault charges. Then in May 2024, a jury convicted Vasquez-Garcia of second-degree assault, resulting in a 10-year prison sentence, with five years suspended.

Vasquez-Garcia first illegally entered the United States through Mexico in July 2014. Law enforcement then detained Vasquez-Garcia, and he admitted he was in the U.S. illegally. Authorities expedited removal proceedings and deported Vasquez-Garcia from Brownsville, Texas. At some point thereafter, Vasquez-Garcia re-entered the U.S. and then traveled to Maryland.

This case is 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.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended ICE-ERO for its work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Mills who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md.

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