Juan Carlos Padilla Santos was sentenced to 100 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported twice and being subject to a third removal order. The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick. Authorities said Padilla Santos made false statements to immigration officials and on a green card replacement form.
“Juan Carlos Padilla Santos was previously deported after he committed multiple serious drug offenses in the U.S.,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Like so many, Santos then deceitfully and illegally exploited our immigration system. Dangerous felons who return to this country illegally after being deported will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We thank the women and men of Homeland Security Investigations for their commitment to these matters.”
“Juan Carlos Padilla Santos exhibited time and time again his disregard for our immigration laws needed for public safety,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “With a history that includes murder, narcotics possession, and even apparently faking his own death, this defendant took repeated steps to illegally enter and re-enter the United States. Padilla Santos now faces a significant sentence for his actions.”
Court records show that Padilla Santos was first deported from the U.S. in 2010 following a conviction for conspiring to distribute narcotics, which led to a prison sentence of nearly seven and a half years. Less than a year after his initial deportation, he returned unlawfully and received another removal order issued in absentia.
In 2016, authorities in the Dominican Republic convicted him of murder with a sentence of 15 years in prison; however, instead of serving that term, he returned again illegally to the United States where he was later convicted of possessing cocaine and bail jumping before being deported again in 2018.
Officials allege that in 2019 Padilla Santos falsified his death record in the Dominican Republic before re-entering the U.S. for a third time in 2021 by making false claims about his status as a lawful permanent resident and submitting fraudulent information on an application for green card replacement.
Padilla Santos is also ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton recognized Homeland Security Investigations New York’s efforts as well as contributions from Enforcement and Removal Operations’ Criminal Prosecutions Unit, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of Fraud Detection and National Security, and HSI Santo Domingo International Operations.
The case is managed by the General Crimes Unit within the Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Cheng leading prosecution.
