Edgardo Amador-Rodriguez, a 29-year-old Honduran national, pled guilty to re-entry of a removed alien as part of Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative targeting illegal immigration and transnational crime, according to information from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Amador-Rodriguez, who was previously deported in June 2018, could face up to two years in prison along with a fine of up to $250,000 and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 after his sentencing on June 17.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announcement detailed that Amador-Rodriguez was arrested on December 22, 2024, on several state charges and then was later arrested in Jefferson Parish on municipal and traffic attachments, when The Pacific Enforcement Response Center issued a detainer for him on March 5, 2023, which led to his pick up by Enforcement and Removal Operations New Orleans after his release from local custody on March 7. Amador-Rodriguez’s indictment is in line with the broader federal commitment to the program that focuses on the "full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration."
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson, praised the collaboration between Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this case, Assistant United States Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr., of the General Crimes Unit is overseeing the prosecution. This partnership speaks to the ongoing nationwide efforts to bolster law enforcement responses to illegal immigration and related criminal activities that impact local communities.
This case illuminates the significant consequences individuals face upon illegal re-entry into the United States, a central tenet Operation Take Back America seeks to highlight in its mission to "achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations" and its determination to "protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime," as emphasized in the official statement. Information about the sentencing, which will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long, has been carefully monitored as this case unfolds alongside many others under the sweeping initiative.
