Dominican National Sentenced to 9 Months on Immigration Charge

Reynaldo Mejia-Mejia, 33, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced Friday on his conviction of illegally reentering the United States. According to a release from U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith, Lewis sentenced Mejia-Mejia to nine months of incarceration followed by one year of supervised release, deportation and was ordered not enter the United States without first obtaining the permission of the attorney general or Department of Homeland Security.

According to court documents, on March 23, 2022, Mejia-Mejia presented himself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for inspection prior to boarding a Spirit Airlines flight from St. Croix to Fort Lauderdale, FL. He presented a Washington State driver’s license in the name of another individual with a photo of his likeness as proof of identification to travel. During his primary inspection, Mejia-Mejia falsely stated that he was born in Puerto Rico, but allegedly had a distinct Dominican Republic accent. A fingerprint analysis identified Mejia-Mejia as a person who was previously deported in 2018 and 2019 from the United States to the Dominican Republic.