DACA recipient sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for trafficking firearms in Oregon

A Mexican national who received protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has been sentenced to federal prison after authorities said he trafficked firearms and acquired more than 120 guns in Oregon.

Vincente Cortes Quiroz, 37, was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. The federal court docket confirms Quiroz was scheduled for sentencing Thursday before US District Judge Adrienne Nelson in Portland.

According to federal prosecutors, investigators discovered that Quiroz, a Mexican national and DACA recipient, had acquired more than 120 firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers in Oregon since 2014.

Authorities said Quiroz falsely claimed on numerous firearm purchase forms that he was a United States citizen.

Investigators ultimately seized more than 70 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from Quiroz’s residence, along with two vehicles that prosecutors said he used in the firearms-trafficking operation.

“Getting illegal firearms off the streets is a top priority,” US Attorney Scott E. Bradford said. “Through our collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we removed more than 70 illegal guns, making our community safer.”

Quiroz’s DACA status adds another dimension to the case. The Obama administration created DACA in 2012 to defer immigration enforcement action against certain illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and met a series of eligibility requirements.

DACA, however, does not grant citizenship or lawful immigration status. US Citizenship and Immigration Services states that while a recipient's removal is deferred and the federal government authorizes the recipient's stay during that period, “deferred action does not confer any lawful status.” Recipients can also qualify for employment authorization.

Federal firearms law contains separate restrictions governing firearm possession and purchases by noncitizens depending on their immigration status and circumstances. ATF guidance states that aliens illegally or unlawfully in the United States are prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms, while separate restrictions and exceptions apply to aliens admitted on nonimmigrant visas. All non-US citizens purchasing a firearm from a federally licensed dealer must provide an alien or admission number.

In Quiroz’s case, prosecutors specifically alleged that he circumvented firearm-purchase requirements by falsely representing himself as an American citizen on numerous purchase forms while acquiring more than 120 guns over a period stretching back to 2014.

The Oregon case is not the first recent federal firearms prosecution involving a DACA recipient.

In June 2025, federal prosecutors in Texas announced that DACA recipient Rodolfo Benitez-Garza was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for participating in a straw-purchasing scheme involving firearms destined for Mexico. Another defendant in that case received 97 months behind bars.