Man With CT Ties Pleads Guilty to Illegally Reentering U.S.: Officials

STAMFORD, CT — A 29-year-old man with ties to Connecticut waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Thursday to "unlawful reentry of a removed alien," according to an announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Tomas Alonso Valencia-Ruiz pleaded guilty in Bridgeport Federal Court.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in November 2014, U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) encountered Valencia-Ruiz in Rio Grande, Texas, after Valencia-Ruiz illegally entered the U.S., Sullivan said. USBP released Valencia-Ruiz while his immigration case was pending.

On Oct. 12, 2016, Greenwich police arrested Valencia-Ruiz on a charge of third-degree assault. In January 2017, the U.S. Immigration Court in New York City ordered Valencia-Ruiz removed to El Salvador in absentia as he failed to appear for the hearing, Sullivan said.

On Nov. 22, 2018, Darien police arrested Valencia-Ruiz on a charge of illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, Sullivan noted.

On May 31, 2019, Valencia-Ruiz was convicted and sentenced in Stamford Superior Court for the Greenwich and Darien offenses and was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was removed to El Salvador on June 26, 2019.

Valencia-Ruiz illegally reentered the U.S. and, on Aug. 15, 2025, he was arrested by Stamford police on charges of risk of injury to a child, carrying a dangerous weapon, second-degree threatening, second-degree criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct, according to Sullivan.

Valencia-Ruiz has been detained since his federal arrest on Sept. 21. He faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative officials say "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."