United States Attorney David Metcalf announced the sentencing of two men convicted of illegally reentering the United States after deportation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Yovany Basurto, a 33-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced to time served, totaling three months, by United States District Court Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr.
In February, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received notification that Basurto had been arrested by the Bridgeport Borough Police Department on a DUI charge. He was subsequently arrested by ICE, indicted in March, and pleaded guilty to illegal reentry last month. Basurto had previously been removed from the U.S. twice before this recent conviction.
Cristhian Vega-Guerra, a 34-year-old Ecuadorian national, received a similar sentence of time served from United States District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg. ICE arrested Vega-Guerra in January 2025 after receiving information about his illegal residency in Lehigh County. He pleaded guilty last month to charges related to illegal reentry.
Both men will be removed from the country following their sentences. "Illegal immigration strains our public services, endangers our citizens, and insults the rule of law," stated U.S. Attorney Metcalf. "If you keep coming into this country illegally, know that we will keep prosecuting you."
ICE ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane emphasized that these sentences highlight the criminal offense committed by those who reenter after deportation: “Yovany Basurto and Cristhian Vega-Guerra showed complete disregard for our nation’s immigration laws.”
The cases were investigated by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Schopf and Rebecca Kulik.