A Honduran national has been sentenced to prison for illegal possession of a firearm, as announced by Samuel Briggs II, the acting chief patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrol Miami sector, via a social media post. The case was investigated by the West Palm Beach office of the Border Patrol following the individual's arrest during a traffic stop.

Briggs commended the collaborative efforts that led to this outcome, stating, "Outstanding work & coordination by our Border Patrol agents & U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida. #borderpatrol #palmbeach #florida."

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida, Ivis Rodriguez-Ordonez, a 23-year-old native of San Pedro, Honduras, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon on January 4th. Rodriguez-Ordonez received a two-year prison sentence after being found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm as an illegal alien. Furthermore, upon his release from prison, he will be subject to three years of supervised release.

The press release also states that once Rodriguez-Ordonez completes his sentence, he will face deportation proceedings. He was arrested on July 30th, 2023 after U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a traffic stop and discovered his illegal status in the country. A subsequent search warrant executed at his residence revealed possession of a semi-automatic pistol and ammunition.

The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Acosta according to the press release. The announcement was made jointly by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Briggs.

As per data available on the Customs and Border Protection website, since the beginning of fiscal year 2024 (which commenced on October 1st, 2023), 617,865 individuals have been arrested. This follows the arrest of 3.2 million people in fiscal year 2023 and 2.7 million in fiscal year 2022.