Samuel Ortiz-Ordonez, a 24-year-old Guatemalan national, has entered a guilty plea to charges of illegal reentry into the United States, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida. Ortiz-Ordonez, previously removed from the country in 2019 and again in 2023, could now face up to two years in a federal prison, followed by deportation.
The official court documents reveal that after being deported back to Guatemala on June 15, 2023, Ortiz-Ordonez did not seek permission from either the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to reenter the U.S. His presence in the country was discovered on March 13, when ICE officers encountered him in Jacksonville. Subsequent to a vehicle abandonment and a short chase on foot through a residential area, he was detained by the authorities.
Detailing the efforts of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the case highlights the broader scope of Operation Take Back America. This initiative aims at halting illegal immigration, dismantling criminal organizations, and curbing violent crime and human trafficking. Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown is currently prosecuting the case against Ortiz-Ordonez, as stated in a press release from the Department of Justice.
The sentencing for Ortiz-Ordonez has yet to be scheduled. The prosecution marks another instance of the rigorous enforcement measures underlining Operation Take Back America's mission to "repel the invasion of illegal immigration," according to the same Department of Justice release.
