According to court records, Velez lied on his naturalization application when he claimed he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested.
SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio man serving more than 17 years in federal prison for child pornography offenses has been sentenced for unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship, federal prosecutors announced this week.
Carlos Fabian Velez, 54, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Jason K. Pulliam to time served after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization. He remains in custody to serve the remainder of his 210-month sentence imposed in 2023 and now faces mandatory denaturalization.
According to court records, Velez lied on his naturalization application when he claimed he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested. Prosecutors said he knew at the time that he had possessed, received, and distributed child pornography. Those offenses occurred within five years of his application, disqualifying him from meeting the good moral character requirement for citizenship.
“Obtaining American citizenship is the goal of so many who come to our great country, but we will do all we can to ensure those who commit crimes against children and then lie about it never receive the honor,” U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas said in a statement. “My office will continue to preserve and protect the sanctity of the naturalization process, and we will aggressively prosecute those who seek to abuse it.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.