A Peruvian national who was deported from the United States more than a decade ago after Connecticut convictions for first-degree burglary, unlawful restraint, and violation of a protective order has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for illegally returning to the country. Christian Maximo Castaneda Negrete, 47, was sentenced March 4 by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven in a federal illegal reentry case.
The Justice Department describes Castaneda Negrete's immigration and criminal history. Castaneda Negrete originally entered the United States legally in July 2001 on a nonimmigrant visa good for no more than a year, well before his first brush with Connecticut's court system.
A Violent Conviction Led to His First Removal
In February 2004, the Connecticut Superior Court in New Britain convicted Castaneda Negrete of first-degree burglary and unlawful restraint, imposing concurrent five-year prison sentences and three years of probation, per the Justice Department. The sentence included three years of probation. He picked up another conviction in 2011, this time in Bristol Superior Court, for violating a restraining order, according to Hyannis News.
That record of state felony convictions and repeated court order violations ultimately led to his removal from the country. Federal immigration authorities under ERO Miami formally deported Castaneda Negrete to Peru in March 2012, the outlet reports. He later reentered the United States illegally.
Hartford Arrest Reignites the Case
The case resurfaced in late 2024, when the Hartford Police Department arrested Castaneda Negrete on November 20, 2024, on a charge of second-degree sexual assault. Local authorities released him on bond before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could execute an administrative detainer, according to an ICE announcement. The ICE release also described the federal illegal reentry case that led to his sentencing.
ERO Boston officers tracked down and arrested Castaneda Negrete on December 3, 2024, taking him into federal custody, per the same ICE release. As reported by New Bedford Guide, ERO Boston said Castaneda Negrete would be sent back to Peru once his federal case concluded.
Trust Act Becomes a Political Flashpoint
His release on bond before ICE could act quickly became a point of political debate in Connecticut. Following the December 2024 apprehension, Connecticut House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora publicly criticized the state's Trust Act, arguing that sanctuary-style policies had prevented local police from holding a serious criminal suspect for federal immigration authorities, according to a statement from Connecticut House Republicans.
Under Connecticut's Trust Act, codified at C.G.S. ยง 54-192h, state and local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from detaining individuals based solely on civil ICE detainers unless a judicial warrant is involved or the person has specific high-level felony convictions, per CT Mirror. Hartford police released Castaneda Negrete on bond rather than holding him for federal custody, and the outlet's report discusses the Trust Act's limits on civil ICE detainers.
Federal Charges Followed Months Later
The federal illegal-reentry case against Castaneda Negrete is docketed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, according to court records reviewed by PacerMonitor. The docket is numbered 3:25-cr-00226.
The Justice Department prosecuted the illegal reentry case. The case involved Castaneda Negrete's prior felony convictions.
