Guatemalan Man Sentenced for Unlawful Reentry by an Alien Removed After Conviction of a Felony

 Gulfport, Miss.  – A Guatemalan national was sentenced to “time served” (6 months) in prison, for the federal crime of unlawful reentry by a removed alien, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca, Jason E. Schneider, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.

Julio Pablo-Chan, 39, was convicted after pleading guilty on May 27, 2021. 

According to court documents, Julio Pablo-Chan, 39, of Guatemala, was arrested on February 26, 2020, on Interstate 10 in Jackson County. An agent of the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team (SMMET) conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Pablo-Chan, who did not have a driver’s license. The deputy requested assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol and a Border Patrol Agent responded on-site.  The agent informed Pablo-Chan that due to his immigration history, and the fact that he did have proper immigration documents to enter, pass through or remain in the U.S. legally, he was being placed under arrest. 

Pablo-Chan was transported to the Gulfport Border Patrol Station, where an agent with Homeland Security Investigations joined the investigation. Pablo-Chan’s identity was positively confirmed and records revealed that Pablo-Chan had illegally entered the United States and been removed from the United States back to his home nation of Guatemala in August 2011 and again in December 2018. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.