A Guatemalan national has been sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to illegally re-entering the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
Isaias Fernando Diego-Lucas, 40, was previously deported in February 2012. On February 24, 2025, he was discovered in Chautauqua County, New York, as a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Department of Homeland Security agents. Diego-Lucas presented a Guatemalan consular ID card.
He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. and was immediately turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for removal proceedings.
Part of federal immigration enforcement push
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a DOJ initiative targeting:
- Illegal immigration
- Transnational criminal organizations
- Violent crime linked to unlawful re-entry
The operation is led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), with support from the FBI Buffalo Division.
Background on the case
- Removed from the U.S.: February 2012
- Location found: Chautauqua County, NY (February 2025)
- Charge: Illegal re-entry by a previously removed alien
- Sentence: Time served
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sasha Mascarenhas prosecuted the case.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].