A Dominican national has entered a guilty plea for the crime of unlawfully reentering the United States post-deportation. Danny Miguel Tejada Hernandez, age 29, made the plea on Tuesday, conceding to one count of this federal offense in a Boston court. His sentencing is slated for September 11, by U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy, following a February indictment by a federal grand jury, as reported in a press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Details around Tejada Hernandez’s initial entry into the U.S. after his August 2021 deportation remain murky, but it's clear that this was not his first brush with the law. In March 2020, he was convicted on multiple drug charges in Chelsea District Court. His history of legal infractions seemingly continued to so quickly spiral that he was convicted yet again in Suffolk County Superior Court on February 1, 2024, for similar drug-related offenses. Currently, Tejada Hernandez is serving a three-year prison term for those charges, with an expected release in 2027.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, alongside Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, announced the guilty plea. The prosecution of the case is in the hands of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Soto of the Major Crimes Unit. Pursuant to the conviction for unlawful reentry, Tejada Hernandez could face a maximum of 20 years in prison, topped with three years of supervised release and a possible fine of up to $250,000. It has been confirmed that following any sentence served, deportation is on the table once more for Tejada Hernandez.
The federal charge of unlawful reentry carries substantial weight, the implications of which are clearly spelled out: after serving any prison sentence that's imposed, the defendant is subject to deportation. Given the nature of the charge and Tejada Hernandez's plea, it seems inevitable that he will likely be compelled to quickly leave the United States upon the completion of his sentence, according to the case details divulged in the Justice Department's announcement.
