Mexican National Sentenced to 24 Months for Unlawful Re-Entry into United States

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Mexican National, who was residing in Jessamine County, Ky., Amancio Juarez Altunar, 39, was sentenced on Friday to 24 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Danny C. Reeves, for unlawful re-entry into the United States, after a previous deportation for an aggravated felony.

Juarez previously pleaded guilty to one count of illegal re-entry into the U.S., after deportation for an aggravated felony offense of a residential burglary conviction from Amarillo, Texas, in 2008. In January 2010, Juarez was released to ICE for deportation to Mexico. Juarez was located in Jessamine County in October 2019, after he was arrested for DUI in a single-vehicle injury collision.  During his interview with ICE agents, he admitted that he had returned to the U.S. in 2015 without any legal authority to do so.

In addition to his prior deportation in 2010, Juarez had been voluntarily removed from the U.S. on at least eight separate occasions.

Under federal law, Juarez must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon release, he will be deported from the United States.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; and Jerry C Templet Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, jointly made the announcement.

The investigation was conducted by ICE.  The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Bradbury.