PHILADELPHIA – Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, a 36-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic, was arrested on March 12, 2025, in Philadelphia as part of a joint operation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Basora-Gonzalez has a criminal record involving attempted possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and aiding and abetting. She was previously deported from the U.S. but unlawfully reentered the country without proper authorization by immigration officials.
In June 2019, she was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and charged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for attempted possession of 40 grams or more of fentanyl. After pleading guilty, Basora-Gonzalez was sentenced to 12 months and one day of confinement and four years of supervised release in March 2020.
On October 6, 2020, ICE deported her back to the Dominican Republic. However, she reentered the United States illegally, leading ICE to issue a notice of intent to reinstate her final removal order on March 12, 2025. That same day, a federal arrest warrant was obtained, and Basora-Gonzalez was taken into federal custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Basora-Gonzalez now faces charges of reentry after deportation, a federal offense. She will remain in federal custody pending her appearance in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
This arrest underscores the ongoing commitment of federal agencies to track and apprehend individuals who reenter the U.S. unlawfully after being deported.
