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A Guatemalan man residing in New Bedford with prior deportations and a record of criminal convictions has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly reentering the United States illegally, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Manuel Ruiz Luis, 52, was arrested in New Bedford on March 31 by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a press release issued Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. He has been charged with one felony count of “unlawful reentry of a deported alien” and remains in federal custody following his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Boston.
Luis was first deported to Guatemala in April 1996. He was deported again in March 2012 and allegedly returned to the United States without authorization at some point after that removal.
The U.S. Department of Justice indicated that according to court documents, Luis had multiple convictions prior to his 2012 deportation, including operating under the influence and four separate counts of driving without a license. It was not immediately clear where in the U.S. the convictions took place.
A search of the New Bedford court system shows two criminal charges against Luis: one for assaulting family members in February 2021, which was dismissed in 2022, and another for operating under the influence, filed in March 2025 and still pending. The clerk confirmed there are no other charges filed against him anywhere in the state — no charges before 2012 and no counts of driving without a license.
Luis was scheduled to be arraigned for the operating under the influence charge on March 31, but he didn’t appear in court; ICE took him into custody that day.
“The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000,” according to the press release. “The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed.”
Luis is one of at least 25 immigrants arrested by immigration agents in New Bedford since the beginning of Trump’s second term, according to data confirmed by The Light.
Corinn Williams, executive director of New Bedford’s Community Economic Development Center, said she doesn’t know Luis but raised concerns about how the press release framed the case.
“I can see this is going to be the pattern: painting these very nefarious profiles of Guatemalan folks who are just going back and forth and didn’t have access to driving with a license,” she said.
Adrian Ventura, director of the Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores (CCT) said he knows Luis was involved in a case of domestic violence. He said the CCT did not assist Luis with his case, and said he had been working in the area as a landscaper.
If they are here illegally they have to be deported & come back the legal way..
Are you able to articulate the “legal way”? What are the steps and how long does it take?
What law can I break and be rewarded ?
Cry me a river. Catch them all.
The “going back and forth” of Manuel Ruiz Luis was multiple illegal entries into the USA before and after his deportations.
Once in the USA, he chose to violate more laws of our country.
In my opinion, Manuel Ruiz Luis needs to be incarcerated in the prison of the Federal Government’s choice very soon.
They should all be charged with the crimes they’ve committed, and sent to serve their sentences in Guantanamo Bay, then released after having a microchip surgically implanted so ICE is notified when they illegally re-enter America so they can tracked, arrested, and sent to prison to begin the process all over again.
I certainly agree they should take stronger measures to not let these illegal criminals back into the US.
Pretty obvious who you voted for.
Maybe if the DOJ checked the immigration status of Cape Verdeans who arrived ages ago under questionable circumstances there would be more sympathetic reactions !
It is not up to us as American citizens to “articulate the legal way” it’s not even up to us as American citizens have illegals removed. There is a process as there has been for all time.