United States of America v. Isidro Arcenio Alvarado

Raleigh, North Carolina, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with naturalization fraud.

Alvarado confessed to having knowingly made materially false statements under oath and penalty of perjury on his naturalization application and during a naturalization interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). He answered “No” to the following questions “Were you EVER involved in any way with any of the following:…[f]orcing or trying to force someone to have any kind of sexual contact or relations?”; “Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested?”; “Have you EVER given any U.S. Government officials any information or documentation that was false, fraudulent, or misleading?”; and “Have you EVER lied to any U.S. government officials to gain entry or admission into the United States or to gain immigration benefits while in the United States?” Alvarado took the oath of citizenship and naturalized on October 12, 2022.

On April 25, 2023, police arrested Alvarado and charged him with having committed multiple sex offenses against a child. On July 8, 2025, in the Wake County Superior Court of North Carolina, Alvarado pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent liberties with a child. The state judge sentenced him to a suspended prison term and ordered him to register as a sex offender. Alvarado admitted to having committed the crimes from January 1, 2019, through April 10, 2021. In 2019, the victim was only 10 years old. Immigration officials did not know about his deviant sex crimes prior to granting him citizenship.

Upon completion of his sentence, ICE will deport him from the United States.

Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. ICE ERO officers investigated the case as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing initiative designed to aggressively target child molesters and other egregious felons who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Fraud Detection and National Security Division is assisting with the initiative. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Warlick prosecuted the case.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 6 months as to Count 3 with special conditions imposed - Counts 1, 2 and 4 are Dismissed - $100 special assessment - No fine