BEAUMONT, Texas – A 26-year-old Mexican national illegally in the United States has been sentenced to federal prison for immigration violations in the Eastern District of Texas announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown Wednesday.
Joel Sanchez-Guzman pleaded guilty on June 4, 2019, to transporting illegal aliens and illegally reentering the United States after having been deported. Sanchez-Guzman was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark. He was also ordered to submit to forfeiture of $1,300.
According to information presented in court, on Jan. 25, 2019, Sanchez-Guzman was stopped for a traffic violation by Nacogdoches Police on U.S. 59. During the traffic stop, Sanchez-Guzman told law enforcement officers that he had received approximately $900 to transport six adult male passengers from Houston, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia. . Sanchez-Guzman was released at the time pending further investigation.
On Feb. 16, 2019, Sanchez-Guzman was again stopped by Nacogdoches Police on U.S. 59 for a traffic violation and at the time was transporting eight individuals he knew to be illegally in the United States. Sanchez-Guzman was arrested for this offense as well as for the January incident. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 6, 2019, and charged with smuggling illegal aliens and reentry as a previously deported alien.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI/ICE and the Nacogdoches Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall L. Fluke.
