By Peter Boylan
Copyright staradvertiser
A citizen of Mexico who pleaded guilty to being in the U.S. illegally since 2019 was sentenced to time served Thursday and will remain in federal custody ahead of deportation proceedings, according to federal court records.
Jose Luis Gonzalez Cruz, also known as Jose Gonzalez, 27, pleaded guilty Aug. 7 to a federal felony charge of illegally reentering the country after being removed. He must pay a $100 special assessment.
He will remain in custody at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu before being sent back to Mexico.
In an Aug. 19 letter to Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson, Gonzalez Cruz apologized, took responsibility for his crime and said he was looking
forward to going back to Mexico.
“One of my first goals is to hug my family and my daughter, to tell them how much I love them and how much I have missed them all this time,” wrote Gonzalez Cruz. “I want to try to leave alcohol behind and return to work, as I mentioned before, while seeking training and information about fish hatcheries, so that with the income from my work I can acquire my own hatchery and provide jobs to other people. I also want to learn about commerce so I can sell my products outside of my town, to be a good father to my daughter and a good contributor to my village.”
He said he was not “proud of my time in jail” but I now have the experience to help “prevent others from going through what I have.” While in the U.S. and living on Hawaii island he worked in
agriculture and was able to send money back to Mexico to restore his mother’s restaurant and bought fishing equipment with his father for a potential business.
Gonzalez Cruz was arrested by officers with the Hawaii Police Department for drunken driving following a crash June 3 at Honolii Beach Park. That arrest drew the attention of Homeland Security Investigations agents.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren W.K. Ching prosecuted the case.
As of June 11, federal agents had made 117 administrative arrests this year in Hawaii, according to the
Deportation Data Project.
On June 22, 2019, Gonzalez Cruz was served with an expedited order of removal, and he was deported to Mexico from Nogales, Ariz..
On Aug. 31, 2022, Gonzalez Cruz was arrested by
Hawaii police officers for driving drunk with an open container. Gonzalez Cruz had his driver’s license suspended and revoked for two years.
On May 13, 2023, he was arrested again and charged with contempt of court for missing a court date, but the charge was later dismissed, according to state court records.
On June 3, witnesses told Hawaii police officers that Gonzalez Cruz drove a car into an unoccupied vehicle at Honolii Beach Park.
