Guatemalan National Sentenced for Unlawfully Returning to the United States

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Guatemalan National was sentenced in federal court for unlawfully returning to the United States for the fifth time after multiple prior illegal reentries.

Edras Leonel Alcides Ramirez-Peralta, 35, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry by a previously deported alien and was sentenced today to one year and a day by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips.

According to court documents, Ramirez-Peralta was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen when he was stopped by a deputy with the Henry County Missouri Sheriff's Office on Dec. 8, 2025. During a search of the vehicle, officers located a folded dollar bill containing methamphetamine and a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue. Ramirez-Peralta was subsequently charged with felony possession of a controlled substance in the Circuit Court of Henry County, Mo.

Immigration authorities later determined that Ramirez-Peralta is a native and citizen of Guatemala who had been previously deported from the United States on four prior occasions, most recently on Nov. 15, 2024.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes IV. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Operation Take Back America

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.