Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that two men convicted of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations have been sentenced.
Hugo Henry Hernandez-Bonilla, 49, a Salvadoran national, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Mia Roberts Perez to time served, approximately four months, for illegal reentry. Having completed his prison sentence, he again will be removed from the country.
Hernandez-Bonilla had been previously removed from the United States in September 2011.
Following his removal, the defendant illegally reentered the United States and was arrested in July 2024 by the Lancaster City (Pa.) Bureau of Police on a charge of driving under the influence.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned of Hernandez-Bonilla’s arrest and took him into custody in February of this year. In March, he was charged by federal indictment with illegal reentry, and he pleaded guilty in May.
Noel Velasquez-Basurto, 33, a Mexican national, was sentenced by United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond last week to time served, approximately four months, for illegal reentry. Having completed his prison sentence, he again will be removed from the country.
Velasquez-Basurto had previously been removed from the U.S. in October 2013, after being encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol near Nogales, Arizona. Later that month, after authorities again found him in Arizona, he was charged by criminal complaint with illegal entry, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 60 days’ imprisonment. Velasquez-Basurto was deported in January 2014, after completing his term.
In February of this year, ICE encountered the defendant in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, determined that he was in the country illegally, and took him into custody.
In April, Velasquez-Basurto was charged by indictment with illegal reentry, and he pleaded guilty this month.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
The cases were investigated by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda McCool, Brittany Jones, and Lindsey Mills.