PHILADELPHIA, PA — Two men, Yovany Basurto and Cristhian Vega-Guerra, were sentenced on Tuesday for illegally reentering the United States after having been deported. Both sentences, imposed by federal judges in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, reflect the ongoing efforts to enforce immigration laws.
Yovany Basurto, 33, a Mexican national, was sentenced to time served, equivalent to three months, by U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. The sentence followed Basurto’s February arrest after being flagged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a DUI charge in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania. He pleaded guilty to illegal reentry last month, having previously been deported twice, the most recent removal occurring in July 2019. Upon completion of his sentence, Basurto will again be deported.
Cristhian Vega-Guerra, 34, an Ecuadorian national, received an identical sentence of time served, approximately three months, from U.S. District Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg. ICE arrested Vega-Guerra in January 2025 after investigating reports of his illegal presence in Lehigh County. He had been deported in August 2023 following an arrest near Eagle Pass, Texas, for unauthorized entry. Vega-Guerra also pleaded guilty last month to illegal reentry and will be removed from the U.S. once more.
“Illegal immigration strains our public services, endangers our citizens, and insults the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf. “If you keep coming into this country illegally, know that we will keep prosecuting you, and the penalties will keep getting steeper.”
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane added, “These sentences send a clear message that aliens who dismiss an immigration judge’s order of removal by illegally reentering the United States after being deported are committing a criminal offense.”
The cases were investigated by ICE ERO and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Schopf and Rebecca Kulik.
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