This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Virgin Islands), published as received.
St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Joan Tavarez
Bueno, 33, of the Dominican Republic, was charged with illegally entering the United States after
being previously removed.
According to court documents, on March 10, 2025, Tavarez Bueno was the passenger in a
vehicle that was stopped by law enforcement after Homeland Security Investigations received
information that a possible non-citizen was traveling from St. John by ferry and arriving at the Red
Hook Ferry Terminal in St. Thomas. Agents observed an individual matching Tavarez Bueno’s
description exiting the Red Hook Ferry Terminal and entering a vehicle parked at the terminal.
Agents later stopped the vehicle and detained Tavarez Bueno. A records check confirmed that
Tavarez Bueno was in the United States illegally and had been removed previously from the United
States on February 13, 2024. If convicted, Tavarez Bueno faces up to two years in prison.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the National Park
Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Payne.
United States Attorney Smith reminds the public that a criminalcomplaint is merely
an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt in a court of law.
