Texas Border Business
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas
HOUSTON – A 37-year-old illegal alien from Mexico with a felony criminal history has been sentenced for illegally entering the country without authorization.
Ivan Garcia-Lopez pleaded guilty April 10.
U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett has now ordered Garcia-Lopez to serve 60 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen and with a current removal order, he will be immediately removed from the country following his imprisonment. In handing down the sentence, the court considered the dangerousness of his other crimes and lack of respect for the law.
Garcia-Lopez has previous convictions for illegal reentry, engaging in organized crime and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
He was first removed from the country in 2012. However, authorities discovered him again in Houston Sept. 8, 2025, following his arrest for felony evading arrest with a motor vehicle.
Garcia-Lopez will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration Customs Enforcement – Enforcement Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Law prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Updated July 9, 2026
