Guatemalan National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry after Deportation

RAPID CITY - U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Guatemalan man convicted of Illegal Reentry after Deportation. The sentencing took place on March 30, 2026.

Wilber Zetino-Alvarez, 29, was sentenced to time served. He was then immediately deported and has arrived back in Guatemala.

Zetino-Alvarez was indicted for Illegal Reentry after Deportation by a federal grand jury in November 2025. He pleaded guilty on December 19, 2025.

On October 21, 2025, Zetino-Alvarez was found in the United States in South Dakota by law enforcement. Law enforcement learned he is an alien unlawfully present in the United States. He had been deported from the United States twice before. Zetino-Alvarez did not receive permission to reenter the country. Reentering the United States after deportation is a federal felony.

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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.