NEWARK, N.J. — A 28-year-old citizen of El Salvador previously convicted of double homicide and sentenced to 50 years in prison in his home country has been charged with illegally reentering the United States, federal authorities announced Friday.
César Eliseo Sorto-Amaya was charged by complaint and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte in Newark federal court.
According to court documents, Sorto-Amaya has been deported from the U.S. and returned illegally on three separate occasions since 2015.
One of those instances followed his conviction for weapons possession in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
In April 2024, he was convicted in absentia in El Salvador of double aggravated homicide.
Federal authorities, including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted the investigation with assistance from law enforcement in El Salvador.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Stern of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.