A Honduran national, Edwin Analfi Mejia, aged 39, was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison after being convicted for illegal reentry into the United States. The ruling was handed down by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara, as confirmed by a Department of Justice press release.
Having previously been removed from the country three times, Mejia found himself once again on American soil, without the legal right to be there. Court documents reveal that his past deportations occurred on September 22, 2006; February 21, 2014; and again, on April 21, 2014. It was during an arrest by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, for contempt of court and burglary with assault, that Mejia's unlawful presence came to light.
The case against Mejia was the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Buchanan. Mejia had entered a guilty plea on January 14, before receiving his prison sentence.
