A Mexican native who has been living in the U.S. illegally for 28 years was sentenced to nine months in jail for his third DUI in Virginia.
Mario Santos-Ochoa, 44, was sentenced to nine months in jail on Monday and immigration authorities placed a detainer on him, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. He could be deported again after serving his time.
Santos-Ochoa has four children, ages 9 to 21 years old, who were all born in the U.S., his attorney, Catherine Lawler said. He was deported five times between September 1997 and September 2014.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell said Santos-Ochoa “illegally re-entered the United States again at some point thereafter [September 2014].”
Santos-Ochoa was convicted in federal court in Texas of “re-entering the U.S. after being deported — in 2009, 2011 and 2012 — and sentenced to seven months, 180 days and 15 months, respectively, in federal prison,” court documents stated.
