Illegal Alien Sentenced to Federal Prison After Illegally Reentering the United States

An illegal alien from Jamaica who was found unlawfully in the United States after having been previously removed following felony convictions in federal court was sentenced today to more than three years in federal prison.

Steven Jarret, also known as Steven Jones, age 55, from Montego Bay, Jamaica, received the prison term after a February 17, 2026, guilty plea to one count of being found after illegal reentry.

Information at sentencing showed that Jarret had been deported or removed from the United States in 1995, 2008, and 2013. His removal in 2008 came following convictions in 2003 for entering the United States on a false passport and drug trafficking in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. He was sentenced to five years in prison and then removed from the country after completing his prison term in 2008. His removal in 2013 came after he had returned to the United States and was convicted of money laundering in 2012 in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.

In December 2025, law enforcement officers in the Northern District of Iowa stopped Jarret as he was driving a commercial vehicle. He was arrested for a traffic violation. Immigrations officials found Jarret as he was being processed at the Howard County, Iowa, jail and arrested him.

At sentencing, the judge said that Jarret was a "dangerous drug dealer" when he was convicted in 2003 for trafficking more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana, and possessing a loaded gun, and in 2012 when he was convicted of laundering more than $140,000 in drug proceeds. The judge said the United States has an interest in keeping dangerous drug dealers out of the country.

Jarret was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Jarret was sentenced to 37 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Jarret is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.plLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

The case file number is 25-cr-2074.

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