Blanca Aguilar Vasquez/Guatemala/Sexual Assault

Blanca Aguilar Vasquez, a Guatemala national living in the country illegally, was taken into custody by ICE agents in Grand Island, Nebraska, on charges of sexual assault.

Sexual assault charges are among the most serious in the criminal justice system, carrying the potential for lengthy prison sentences and lifetime sex offender registration requirements. For illegal aliens arrested on such charges, the case triggers two simultaneous legal proceedings — the criminal prosecution and a federal immigration removal case moving on a separate, independent timeline. Vasquez now faces both.

Following the arrest, Vasquez was transferred to federal immigration detention. Removal proceedings before a Department of Justice immigration judge are pending, with Guatemala as the country of removal.