Gulfport, Miss. - Erick Edgardo Amaya, 42, an illegal alien from Honduras, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Taylor B. McNeel to unlawful return of an alien after removal, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Michael J. Harrison, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector. Amaya is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. by Judge McNeel, and faces a potential maximum of two years in prison, one year of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and removal proceedings.
In September 2020, the U.S. Border Patrol began investigating activities of Amaya following receipt of information indicating he had been officially removed from the United States, and had unlawfully returned to the Biloxi area. On Nov. 11, 2020, a Border Patrol agent conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Amaya. A second Border Patrol agent arrived on the scene and the agents confirmed Amaya’s identity. He was arrested and transported to the Gulfport Border Patrol Station.
Further investigation revealed that Amaya had been previously arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol in Biloxi in 2008. He had been lawfully removed to his home nation of Honduras on June 12, 2008 and had unlawfully returned to the United States.
Acting U.S. Attorney LaMarca praised the efforts of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
