PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain today announced sentences in three separate immigration cases in which the defendants, who are all convicted criminals, were also convicted for the additional crime of illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.  The three cases are United States v. Marcos Mendoza-Jimenez; United States v. Walter Morales-Lopez; and United States v. Melvin Ramos-Moreira.  

United States v. Marcos Mendoza-Jimenez 

Marcos Mendoza-Jimenez, 43, of West Chester, was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, followed by immediate and permanent removal from the United States.  Mendoza-Jimenez was charged by federal indictment in October 2018 with one count of illegal reentry after deportation.  Mendoza-Jimenez, a native and citizen of Mexico, illegally entered the United States sometime before 2004.  While living here illegally, he was convicted in 2004 for theft, assault, and false imprisonment based on an altercation with a man who Mendoza-Jimenez held captive in a car for several hours and threatened with a hammer.  After his first conviction, Mendoza-Jimenez was deported and removed from the United States.  The defendant returned illegally sometime in 2016.  In 2018, he also assaulted a female with whom he was in a relationship.  

United States v. Walter Morales-Lopez 

Walter Morales-Lopez, 33, of Kennett Square, was sentenced to time served, approximately six months after pleading guilty to one count of illegal reentry after deportation.  Morales-Lopez, a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States illegally sometime prior to 2011, when he was removed from the United States for the first time.  At some point thereafter, the defendant illegally reentered the United States and engaged in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.  He was subsequently convicted on state charges of statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors, and luring a child into his car.  As a result of his federal conviction on the immigration crime, the defendant will be immediately transferred into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for immediate permanent removal from the United States.

United States v. Melvin Roberto Ramos-Moreira

Melvin Roberto Ramos-Moreira, 24, of Lancaster, was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison after pleading guilty to one count of illegal reentry after deportation.  Ramos-Moreira, a native and citizen of Honduras, entered the United States sometime prior to 2013.  In 2013, he was found in the United States, convicted in state court for stalking, and deported for the first time.  At some point thereafter, Ramos-Moreira reentered the United States illegally.  In 2018, he was charged and pleaded guilty to state charges of stalking, possessing an instrument of crime, invasion of privacy, and harassment following an incident where he followed a female victim shopping in a store and took pictures up the victim’s skirt.

“Those who enter our country illegally are not above the law – nobody is,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain.  “These defendants decided they did not have to follow the rules. They not only flouted our nation’s immigration laws, but also committed additional serious crimes while they were here illegally.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to uphold the rule of law and ensure our nation’s immigration laws are enforced.”

“All three defendants were previously removed from the United States and have been convicted of crimes: Mendoza-Jimenez for assaulting and stealing from a man whom he threatened with a hammer, Morales-Lopez for sexual assault, Ramos-Moreira for a stalking conviction,” said Simona L. Flores, Field Office Director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia.  “ICE and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will seek to prosecute and remove dangerous criminals who break United States law. Our officers continue to work daily with professionalism and integrity, enforcing the law as set forth by Congress.”

These cases were investigated by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary Kay Costello, Mary E. Crawley, and Nancy Beam Winter.