A Mexican national living illegally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for illegal reentry after being removed from the United States on at least three occasions.
Jose Luis Saavedra-Escamirosa, 36, recently pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville. He was arrested by Virginia State Police in April 2025 and charged with driving under the influence after being found stopped in the median on I-64 following a vehicle accident. According to court documents, he exhibited signs of intoxication including bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and a strong smell of alcohol.
Authorities discovered that Saavedra-Escamirosa was first deported from the United States in 2011. After returning illegally, he was convicted of two drug offenses in Colorado in 2014 and subsequently removed again. He later returned once more and was convicted of illegal reentry in the Southern District of Texas in 2016, receiving a 20-month prison sentence before being deported to Mexico again in January 2018. Despite these removals, he returned yet again and lived unlawfully until his most recent arrest.
“Illegal reentry into the United States is a federal felony offense,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci. “This office will affirmatively prosecute those who violate the immigration laws of the United States.”
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations based in Harrisonburg. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally J. Sullivan is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative that coordinates resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) to address organized crime and related offenses.
