A Mexican national arrested in a Sallisaw parking lot this past July is headed to what would be his sixth removal from the United States. Pedro Ramos Hernandez, 63, pleaded guilty in August to unlawful re-entry and was sentenced Wednesday by Senior Judge Ronald A. White in Muskogee to time served.
Court records show Hernandez has been deported five previous times: 2000, 2005, 2012, and twice in 2013. He was arrested July 10. His attorney asked the court for leniency, saying Hernandez came to the U.S. alone at age 14 and has spent most of his adult life here, describing the country as the only home he knows.
The case was handled as part of the nationwide“Operation Take Back America”initiative. It raises familiar questions about repeat re-entry, sentencing, and what justice looks like when a man’s life story and his legal record point in different directions.
We want to hear from you. Should a sixth re-entry carry tougher penalties, or does the sentence fit the circumstances?
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Local Lawton
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