A Dominican drug dealer previously deported for peddling fentanyl was seen breaking down in tears as she was arrested while illegally back in the US.
Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, 36, was sobbing as agents arrested her in Philadelphia last Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said.
A US magistrate judge issued a federal warrant for her arrest on the same day a notice of intent to reinstate a final removal order against her was to be served.
She will remain in federal custody pending charges for re-entry after deportation, the feds said.
Photos shared by ICE show the convicted drug dealer crying as she’s being led away in cuffs.
“The apprehension of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez demonstrates our commitment to protecting our communities from criminal aliens who engage in serious illegal activities that pose a threat to public safety,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia acting Field Office Director Brian McShane.
“This successful joint operation exemplifies the collaborative efforts of federal law enforcement agencies to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and remove dangerous individuals from our streets.”
The teary-eyed drug dealer was living illegally in the US when the Drug Enforcement Administration first arrested her in Pennsylvania for possessing 40 grams or more of fentanyl and aiding and abetting in June 2019.
She pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 12 months, one day of confinement, and four years of supervised release, but was deported by ICE to her home country, the Dominican Republic, in October 2020 before she could serve out her sentence.
However, the convicted opioid dealer illegally re-entered the US a second time at an unknown date.
ICE discovered she was back in the US after a confidential source reported her return on March 7, 2025, according to an affidavit obtained by the Daily Mail.
Agents nabbed Basora-Gonzalez outside her job at La Tierra Del Caribe Restaurant in North Philadelphia, where she allegedly worked as a cook.
Law enforcement confirmed her identity using the FBI fingerprint database, according to the affidavit.
Her court-appointed attorney said she shouldn’t be detained before her trial, saying that being charged with illegal re-entry did not make her a flight risk.
The government responded by “cementing the conclusion that pretrial detention is required” over her previous conviction.
