Evergreen Reporter

A Guatemalan man, Pablo Perez-Chavez, has been sentenced to one year in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after deportation. The sentence was handed down on January 24, 2025, following Perez-Chavez's guilty plea on August 29, 2024, to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after deportation due to an aggravated felony conviction.

Perez-Chavez, aged 24 and residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, admitted during his guilty plea that he had been previously deported and returned without authorization from the U.S. government. In January 2023, he was convicted in the Northern District of Iowa for possession of a firearm by an alien. He served ten months in prison and was placed on supervised release for three years before being deported in May 2023.

Immigration officials discovered Perez-Chavez's illegal return to the U.S. on July 15, 2024, when he reported to Linn County Jail for a state OWI sentence. This led to additional charges for violating the terms of his supervised release by reentering without permission.

United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Perez-Chavez in Cedar Rapids to eight months' imprisonment with an additional four months for violating his prior supervised release conditions related to his firearm conviction. There is no parole in the federal system; thus, Perez-Chavez will serve the full term.

Currently held by the United States Marshal’s custody, Perez-Chavez awaits transport to a federal prison where he will complete his sentence. Following his imprisonment, he will undergo a three-year term of supervised release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Further details can be accessed through court file number 24-CR-67 at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

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