A twice-deported gang member and illegal immigrant who had been convicted of attempted murder in New York was among the 34 workers arrested Monday during federal raids in Manassas.

Carlos Moran-Bravo, of Mexico, now faces federal charges for re-entering the country after committing an aggravated felony and could face a sentence of up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents executing the raid did not know of Moran-Bravo's past conviction when he was among the men from five Latin American countries arrested at two CMC Concrete Construction locations in Manassas.

When agents ran his fingerprint through federal databases, they learned he had been deported to Mexico in 1996 and again in 2004.

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His second deportation came after serving more than 65 months for an attempted murder charge in fall 1999 in New York.

According to an affidavit, Moran-Bravo admitted having been twice deported, being convicted of attempted murder and being a former member of the Ninos Del Barrio gang, or Kids of the Hood, said Special Agent Joshua W. DeLay in court documents.

Moran-Bravos told the agent he returned to the United States in May 2007.

He is the first of the Manassas workers arrested Monday for being in the country illegally to face criminal charges, said Jim Rybicki, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The four-page affidavit does not provide any additional details of Moran-Bravo's conviction or say how he entered the country in May.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com