Federal prosecutors say Elvin Francisco De La Rosa-Alvarez, a Mexican national with multiple drug felony convictions, is back in a Las Vegas courtroom after agents took him into custody in the city. He is now charged in federal court with allegedly reentering the United States years after he was removed, and authorities point to a trail of prior state and federal drug convictions that they cite in the new complaint.
According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada press release, De La Rosa-Alvarez was deported on June 13, 2013 and was later encountered by authorities in Las Vegas, before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Fugitive Operations Team took him into custody on Feb. 25, 2026. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, before United States Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe.
As reported by KOLO, court records and filings show De La Rosa-Alvarez has two separate drug trafficking convictions from 2010, one in Mineral County and one in Clark County. He was later convicted again in Clark County in 2022 of conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and high-level possession. Prosecutors say he was sentenced on Feb. 9, 2022 to 24 to 60 months and ordered to self-surrender on Feb. 11, 2022; when he failed to show up, an active warrant followed.
Federal Charge And Potential Sentence
De La Rosa-Alvarez is charged with one count of being a deported alien found in the United States. If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The office added that the ICE Salt Lake City, Las Vegas Sub-Office investigated the case and that the filing is being handled as part of a broader enforcement initiative.
Local Trend And Enforcement
Federal prosecutors in Nevada have filed multiple illegal reentry cases in recent months, part of what officials describe as an uptick in such filings across the district. Similar Illegal Reentry Case is one recent Hoodline piece that tracked another federal filing and local arrest in the Las Vegas area, underscoring how these prosecutions keep showing up on local dockets.
As with any criminal complaint, the allegations are accusations, and De La Rosa-Alvarez is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. The preliminary hearing later this month will determine whether the case moves forward toward trial.
