Mexican national sentenced for repeated illegal entries into the United States

A Mexican national has been sentenced in federal court after repeatedly illegally entering the United States.

Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Vazquez, 42, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Tuesday, July 10, to four years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.

On Feb. 5, 2019, Rodriguez-Vazquez pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported for an aggravated felony, his second violation of this statute.

According to court documents, Rodriguez-Vazquez has illegally entered the United States on five different occasions. Rodriguez-Vazquez illegally entered the United States in 1991, then again in 2000. Rodriguez-Vazquez was convicted of possessing marijuana with the intent to sell on Feb. 4, 2003, and was deported.

On April 16, 2004, Rodriguez-Vazquez had his probation revoked because he again illegally re-entered the United States for the third time. On April 4, 2005, Rodriguez-Vazquez was convicted in the U.S. District Court of Kansas of illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported for an aggravated felony. He was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and later deported.

Rodriguez-Vazquez illegally re-entered the United States the fourth time on April 8, 2011. Rodriguez-Vazquez was arrested and subsequently convicted in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas on Sept. 21, 2011, of illegally re-entering the United States. He was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and was deported on Aug. 14, 2014.

Rodriguez-Vazquez claims to have last entered the United States without inspection sometime in June 2018. He was arrested by Riverside police officers for loitering on Sept. 16, 2018.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes IV, It was investigated by the Riverside Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.