PHILADELPHIA, PA — Three foreign nationals convicted in separate cases of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations were sentenced in April, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced.
Demer Ramirez-Diaz, 38, a Guatemalan national also known as Demer Neftali Ramirez Diaz, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond to 16 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Authorities said he will be removed from the United States upon completion of his sentence.
According to federal prosecutors, Ramirez-Diaz had previously been removed from the country four times — in June 2009, February 2012, July 2012, and February 2022 — following arrests by U.S. Border Patrol agents and a prior illegal reentry conviction in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers encountered Ramirez-Diaz in September of last year in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, when an officer recognized him from a prior case and took him into custody without incident. He was charged by indictment in October and pleaded guilty in November.
In a separate case, Ubdulio Santiago-Morales, 32, a Mexican national, was sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Wendy Beetlestone to time served, approximately three months. He will also be removed from the United States.
Authorities said Santiago-Morales first entered the country unlawfully in August 2011 and was returned to Mexico the following day. He was later removed again in July 2012 and January 2015.
According to prosecutors, Santiago-Morales was arrested by local police in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in April of last year on DUI and related charges. He was released on bond but failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing in July 2025 and remained a fugitive for six months.
ICE officers took him into custody in January on a federal criminal complaint and warrant. He was charged by information in February and pleaded guilty in March.
In the third case, Efrain Villegas Lopez, 35, a Mexican national, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Catherine Henry to time served, approximately three months, and will be removed from the United States.
Prosecutors said Lopez had previously been removed in June 2012 following an arrest by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Texas.
ICE became aware of Lopez’s presence in January after he was arrested by the Lower Providence Township Police Department. He was taken into federal custody on a criminal complaint that month, charged by information in February, and pleaded guilty in April.
The cases were investigated by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Andrew Jenemann, Nancy Potts, and Robert Schopf.
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