Violent Felon Deported Multiple Times Arrested After Crossing Arizona Border

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a previously deported criminal alien after he illegally crossed the border from Mexico. Immigration officers deported the man multiple times.

Tucson Sector agents apprehended 55-year-old Santiago Villarreal-Valderrama on January 2 after he illegally crossed the border from Mexico, according to information provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. Agents transported the Mexican national to the station for processing and a biometric background investigation.

Court records revealed a conviction by an Arizona court in Maricopa County for Manslaughter. The court sentenced the criminal alien to five years in prison following the 1985 conviction. Immigration records show multiple deportations.

Villarreal-Balderrama will now face federal felony charges for illegally re-entering the country after removal as a violent felon. If convicted on the charge, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

“The U.S. Border Patrol is often the first line of defense against previously deported criminals attempting to reenter the United States. In Fiscal Year 2019, Tucson Sector agents arrested 195 illegal aliens with significant criminal histories,” Tucson Sector officials said in a written statement. All persons apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks using biometrics to ensure illegal aliens with criminal histories are positively identified.”

Border Patrol agents frequently apprehend previously deported criminal aliens as they attempt to illegally re-enter the U.S.

In December, a federal district court in the Southern District of New York sentenced 44-year-old Gerardo Gutierrez-Perez, a Mexican national, to 46 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after removal, according to information provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officials. In addition to the prison term, the judge also ordered 24 months of supervised release. He will be processed for his fourth deportation following his release from federal prison, Breitbart Texas reported.

“Gutierrez-Perez is a criminal alien who repeatedly broke the laws of this nation, reentering illegally after removal on multiple occasions,” Thomas R. Decker, field office director for ERO New York, said in a written statement. “With the growing number of New York jurisdictions enacting sanctuary policies that do nothing but shield criminal aliens, this trend of continued illegal entry into the country with a complete disregard for U.S. laws will continue. Until elected officials in this state place the safety of their constituents before politics, the pipeline of criminal aliens will continue to flow into the New York metropolitan area.”