United States Attorney David Metcalf announced sentencing outcomes for five foreign nationals previously convicted of illegally reentering the U.S. after deportation. The individuals, from Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, and Honduras again, were sentenced in November, as shared on the Department of Justice's website.
Gerardo Antonio Estrada-Rios, a 28-year-old Honduran national, was handed a prison sentence of 18 months by United States District Judge Mary Kay Costello. Estrada-Rios is set for another removal from the country on completion of his term. He had been deported multiple times, the first being August 2016 and the most recent in October 2024 following a two-year term for a robbery conviction. Julio Cesar Concepcion, aged 41 from the Dominican Republic, received one year and a day from United States District Judge Mark A. Kearney for reentering the country illegally after a drug trafficking indictment in 2019.
In similar circumstances, Sean Christian, a 35-year-old Jamaican national, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison plus two years of supervised release, as ordered by United States District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. Christian was deported previously in August 2016 due to a marijuana-related charge, only to illegally return and get arrested again this year. Isaac Tapia Hernandez, also 35, from Mexico, got a 10-month prison term from United States District Judge Kai N. Scott for his unlawful reentry and will face removal thereafter. Hernandez had been removed from the United States multiple times in 2019.
Lastly, 41-year-old Geysi Enecon Aguilar Montoya, hailing from Honduras, was sentenced by United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to time served, approximately three months, for his illegal reentry. Montoya had a history of removals dating back to October 2007, with his latest deportation taking place in March 2024 until his recent apprehension and conviction. These cases are a part of "Operation Take Back America," aimed at addressing illegal immigration and related criminal activities.
Each of these cases was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy Potts, Robert Schopf, and Terri Marinari, representing a concerted effort to clamp down on illegal reentry into the country. The operation underscores the U.S. Department of Justice's strategy to repel what it describes as "the invasion of illegal immigration" and dismantle the infrastructures of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, according to the same press release.
