A 24-year-old Honduran national, Jhosmy Josue Perez-Alvarez, was sentenced on August 26 for illegal possession of a firearm. The U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey handed down a 20-month imprisonment following Perez-Alvarez's admission that he was unlawfully in the country when he was caught with a Glock nine-millimeter handgun on January 2, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The conviction results from an operation undoubtedly intended to directly tackle the issues of illegal immigration and transnational crime. Dubbed Operation Take Back America, the initiative is aiming to not just to rebuff, but wholly to eradicate the presence of cartels and associated criminal activities across the nation. In this vein, Perez-Alvarez, following his stint behind bars, is slated for deportation back to Honduras, post a supervised release period of two years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The case against Perez-Alvarez underscores a more significant national push towards clamping down on illegal immigration-linked crimes. As court documents cited, Perez-Alvarez's status as an individual unlawfully present in the United States prohibited him from possessing a firearm under Title 18 of the United States Code. In addition to his jail time, he is required to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson publicly commended the efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations and the New Orleans Police Department for their role in bringing Perez-Alvarez to book. This partnership stands as a testament to the multi-agency approach the government is determined to prosecute in the ongoing Operation Take Back America. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis from the General Crimes Unit was credited to decidedly oversee the prosecution of the case, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
