Five Repeat Immigration Offenders Sentenced in Philadelphia Crackdown

Court News

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Federal judges in Philadelphia have sentenced five foreign nationals convicted of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations, highlighting what prosecutors described as a sustained enforcement push against repeat immigration offenders with extensive criminal histories.

United States Attorney David Metcalf said the sentences, handed down this month in separate cases, reflect the seriousness of repeated violations of federal immigration law and the public safety risks tied to unlawful reentry.

Among those sentenced was Roberto Garcia-Antonio, also known as Angel Rondon and Roberto Sandoval-Antonio, a 49-year-old Dominican national who received 18 months in prison from U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage. Garcia-Antonio has been removed from the United States five times and was convicted for illegal reentry for the fifth time. Federal authorities said he had previously been prosecuted twice in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and twice in the Southern District of Texas. He was taken into custody in January 2025 during the execution of a state search warrant at a Philadelphia residence and later pleaded guilty to illegal reentry. He will be deported again after completing his sentence.

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Ricardo Henriquez Carmona, also a Dominican national, was sentenced to 14 months in prison and one year of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge. Prosecutors said Henriquez Carmona was first removed from the United States in 1997 following a narcotics conviction in Puerto Rico, then illegally returned and accumulated a lengthy criminal record under multiple aliases, including drug offenses, theft, resisting arrest, trespassing, and aggravated assault. He was arrested last year after Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned of his unlawful return and pleaded guilty in October. He will again be removed after serving his sentence.

U.S. District Judge Mia Roberts Perez sentenced Magdaleno Ochoa-Avalos, a 42-year-old Mexican national, to 12 months and one day in prison. Authorities said Ochoa-Avalos has been removed from the United States six times. His record includes a conviction for homicide by vehicle in Chester County, followed by multiple removals after border encounters and a prior illegal reentry conviction in South Carolina. ICE located and arrested him in mid-2025 after receiving information that he had again unlawfully returned.

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Two other defendants received time-served sentences but will also be deported.

Luis Urrutia-Noyola, 33, a Mexican national, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHugh to approximately four months, the time he had already served in custody. Prosecutors said he was previously removed in 2018 and later arrested by Oxford police in Chester County for striking and threatening a domestic partner. After a state conviction, ICE charged him federally with illegal reentry, to which he pleaded guilty.

Diego Jacome-Esquibel, 51, also a Mexican national, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer to about three and a half months, also time served. Federal authorities said Jacome-Esquibel had been removed twice in 2012 following encounters with Border Patrol in Texas and Arizona before unlawfully returning again. He was arrested last fall after Homeland Security Investigations identified his presence in the country.

All five defendants will be removed from the United States upon completion of their sentences.

The cases were investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kwambina Coker, Eileen Castilla Geiger, S. Chandler Harris, Justin Ashenfelter, and Jessica Rice.

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