Kennedy said in court one of the reasons for offering the plea deals was because the raid strained the resources of federal prosecutors and getting each person through court as quickly as possible was the best plan.

In Utah, activists against illegal immigration applauded the provision that Ocampo-Ocampo agreed to never return to the United States.

"Absolutely that's justice," said Phyllis Sears, who heads the Citizens Council on Illegal Immigration.

However, Sears questioned the reduced sentence, saying, "In my book identity theft is a very serious thing; by cutting it in half they are saying it's not so serious."

Alex Segura, director of the Utah Minuteman Project, agreed that Ocampo-Ocampo should be forever barred from re-entry. He also questioned the reduced sentence but said depending on the circumstances, maybe the idea was to save the taxpayers the burden of paying for additional jail time.

But for Latino community activist Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino de Utah, the reduced sentence is secondary to the lifelong ban on re-entry. He wondered whether Ocampo-Ocampo has children who are U.S. citizens and whether he'd ever be able to qualify for a pardon or a waiver.

"It's worse to be deported and know you're never going to have to come back again," he said. "That is probably a lot worse than serving the two-years."

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com