A citizen of El Salvador first arrested by Greenwich Police in 2016 pleaded guilty Sept. 30 in Bridgeport federal court to unlawful reentry after deportation.

Tomas Alonso Valencia-Ruiz, 29, waived his right to be indicted and entered the plea, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office announcement. U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan said Valencia-Ruiz faces up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing has not been scheduled.

His arrests span Fairfield County.

U.S. Border Patrol first encountered Valencia-Ruiz in Rio Grande, Texas, in November 2014 after he illegally entered the country. Border Patrol released him while his immigration case was pending. On Oct. 12, 2016, Greenwich Police arrested him on a charge of third-degree assault.

In January 2017, a U.S. Immigration Court in New York ordered Valencia-Ruiz removed to El Salvador in absentia after he failed to appear for his hearing. On Nov. 22, 2018, Darien Police arrested him on a charge of illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle.

Valencia-Ruiz was convicted on May 31, 2019, in Stamford Superior Court for the Greenwich and Darien offenses. He was transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and deported to El Salvador on June 26, 2019.

He illegally reentered the country at an unknown date. On Aug. 15, 2025, Stamford Police arrested him on charges of risk of injury to a child, carrying a dangerous weapon, second-degree threatening, second-degree criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. The federal announcement did not detail the circumstances of those charges.

Valencia-Ruiz has been in federal custody since his arrest on Sept. 21. ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justyn P. Stokely is prosecuting.

The Department of Justice said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative targeting illegal reentry and transnational criminal organizations.