Dominican Pleads Guilty to Illegally Entering the U.S.

Ruberky Antonio Romero-Mejia, 37, of the Dominican Republic, pled guilty on May 29, 2015, to a one-count indictment charging him with illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported, announced Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith.

As part of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire’s fast track program, Romero-Mejia was sentenced to time served and immediately turned over to immigration officials for deportation. Romero-Mejia had been incarcerated since his arrest by immigration officials.

On Feb. 11, 2015, the New Hampshire State Police contacted agents of the Department of Homeland Security concerning an individual who was trying to obtain a New Hampshire identification card under the name Joel Salome-Ortiz. Salome-Ortiz presented altered and inconsistent documents at the Salem office of the Department of Motor Vehicles in support of his attempt to obtain the identification card. He was interviewed by immigration officials and agreed to provide a set of digital fingerprints.

The digital fingerprints did not match any individual in the DHS’s database and DHS agents noticed that Salome-Ortiz’s fingers appeared to have been scarred and the skin re-sewn. Salome-Ortiz was arrested by state officials on unsworn falsification and tampering with public records charges.

The following day, DHS agents obtained a set of inked fingerprints from Salome-Ortiz and they were matched to Ruberky Antonio Romero-Mejia after analysis by DHS lab personnel who specialize in analyzing altered fingertips. Romero-Mejia had been previously deported in March 2010.

The case was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police and agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega prosecuted this case.