Mexican national sentenced to federal prison for immigration violation

SAVANNAH, Georgia: A defendant illegally inside the United States was sentenced to prison in federal court in the Southern District of Georgia.

The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Judge J. Randal Hall, District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia and announced by U.S. Attorney Margaret E. 'Meg' Heap.

Jose Hernandez-Perez, 41, of Tultepec, Mexico, was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by immediate deportation after pleading guilty to Illegal Re-entry after Removal or Deportation, a charge applied to an illegal alien present in the United States after at least one prior removal.

There is no parole in the federal system.

Court records and documents showed that Hernandez-Perez was apprehended during a traffic stop in Screven County and subsequently identified as an illegal alien utilizing biometric data. The defendant was shown to have extensive federal immigration violations dating back to 2010.

"This case demonstrates that no matter how many times one may break our laws, criminals will be met with prosecution," said U.S. Attorney Heap. "We will continue to identify and bring to justice those who would completely disregard our laws and exploit our borders."

In August 2010, Hernandez-Perez was convicted of Conspiracy to Transport an Unlawful Alien within the United States in the Southern District of Texas and was sentenced to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

In July 2012 and again in January 2017, Hernandez-Perez was convicted of Illegal Re-entry after Removal or Deportation, again in the Southern District of Texas, and was sentenced to 35 months and 15 months confinement, respectively.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Screven County Sheriff's Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant United States Attorney Kelsey L. Scanlon.