A Honduran national, Jorge Alberto Marroquin Membrano, aged 47, who was detained for shoplifting at a Kroger in Hamilton County, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison by a federal court for illegally reentering the United States; this sentence comes after his arrest and the subsequent discovery of his legal status, or lack thereof, in the country.
Membrano, according to court documents, was arrested in August 2024 and has a history of illegal reentry with three prior convictions for the same offense; after being caught using an alias and fingerprinted at a local jail, it was revealed that Membrano is an undocumented immigrant who has been removed from the U.S. multiple times, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
In December 2024, Membrano pleaded guilty to the charges, and U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. McFarland announced his sentence; Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney, and Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations Detroit, played roles in bringing forth this judgment.
Membrano's case was prosecuted as part of Operation Take Back America, a sweeping federal initiative detailed that targets illegal immigration and related criminal activities such as drug trafficking and violent crime, this initiative led by the Southern District of Ohio Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) and established under Executive Order 14159, has the goal of eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations to protect American communities, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio reported.
Assistant United States Attorney Danielle E. Margeaux represented the United States in this case against Membrano. The efforts against illegal reentry continue under the combined force of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
