Press Release: 2/18/2026

Dominican National Previously Convicted of Drug Distribution Sentenced for Illegal Reentry

 

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

 

For Immediate Release

 

Defendant previously convicted of state drug offenses and federal illegal reentry charges; he later fled following state charges of armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm

BOSTON – A Dominican national unlawfully residing in Worcester was sentenced in federal court in Worcester for illegally reentering the United States after deportation. The defendant was previously convicted and sentenced for illegal reentry in 2020and subsequently removed from the United States.

Jose Luis Urena-Vasquez, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to three years in prison. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In December 2025, Urena-Vasquez pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2025.

Urena-Vasquez was encountered by immigration officials in 2008 while serving an 11-month sentence for drug distribution in the Essex County House of Corrections. Upon completion of his sentence, Urena-Vasquez was placed into removal proceedings and was deported to the Dominican Republic on March 25, 2009.

Sometime after his removal, Urena-Vasquez illegally reentered the United States. In 2018, he was charged in Lawrence District Court with armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm. He then fled the state and in July 2018, Urena-Vasquez was arrested in Florida and returned to Massachusetts to face the state charges. In October 2018, Urena-Vasquez was indicted by a federal grand jury for unlawful reentry of a deported alien and pleaded guilty to the offense in May 2019. He was subsequently sentenced in April 2020 to eight months in prison and three years of supervised to be served consecutively with his pending state charges. Urena-Vasquez then pleaded guilty to the armed assault to murder and other charges in Essex Superior Court and was sentenced to several years in prison.

Urena-Vasquez was removed from the United States in February 2024 and unlawfully re-entered in or about July 2024. Urena-Vasquez came to the attention of federal authorities in May of 2025 after he was arrested and charged in state court in Worcester for alleged state fraud offenses.

        

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.