MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty to Illegally Crossing Border After Deportation

A member of the MS-13 transnational criminal organization pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported.

Law enforcement officers encountered 31-year-old Elenilson Gonzalez-Gonzalez, a/k/a “Siniestro,” near Deer Island Park in Winthrop, Massachusetts, in December 2015. During questioning, officers learned that the man is a member of MS-13 and that he had previously been deported from the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Gonzalez-Gonzalez reportedly entered the U.S. illegally in May 2012 near Mission, Texas. He told Border Patrol agents he was a Salvadoran national and that he was attempting to make his way to the Boston area. Immigration officers carried out an expedited removal of the Salvadoran later that year.

Following his deportation, Gonzalez-Gonzalez illegally re-entered the U.S. at an unspecified date and location, officials stated.

His arrest and conviction is part of an on-going operation against MS-13 gang members whereby 61 defendants have been named in an indictment. He is the 27th person to plead guilty in connection to this indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.

Because this is not an aggravated case, Gonzalez-Gonzalez only faces up to two years in prison. Illegal re-entry by previously deported felons becomes an “aggravated felony” and would make an illegal immigrant subject to a much more severe penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

The convicted MS-13 gang member also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and one year of supervised release. It is expected that Gonzalez-Gonzalez will be deported following the completion of his prison sentence.

In October 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the International Association of Chiefs of Police that he is prioritizing prosecution of MS-13 gang members, Breitbart Texas reported.

“Just like we took Al Capone off the streets with our tax laws, we will use whatever laws we have to get MS-13 off of our streets,” Sessions said. “We will not concede a single block or street corner in the United States to lawlessness or crime.  The criminals, the gang members, and the drug traffickers should know: We are coming after you — and we have better tools and are better coordinated than ever.”