NEW ORLEANS – Jorge Luis Ruelas-Guerra, 47, a native of Mexico, pled guilty on July 10, 2025, to illegal re-entry of a removed alien. This was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson. His sentencing is scheduled for October 23, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Barry W. Ashe.
Court documents reveal that Ruelas-Guerra reentered the United States after being deported on September 29, 2011. He was encountered by the Houma Police Department on May 17, 2024, in Houma, Louisiana during a traffic stop for failing to stop at a stop sign. During the stop, he presented a Mexican passport and stated he had no driver’s license. Body cam footage identified him as the driver of the vehicle. Information from the traffic stop matched Department of Homeland Security records from his prior removals and booking photos from previous arrests. Additionally, Ruelas-Guerra had no record of immigration petitions or applications with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Ruelas-Guerra faces up to two years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, one year of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson commended the efforts of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Houma Police Department in investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K.D. Guice Jr., from the General Crimes Unit, is leading the prosecution.
