Nelson S.T. Thayer Jr. Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | Penn Carey Law School
United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that three men were sentenced this week for illegally reentering the United States after previous deportations. The cases, part of Operation Take Back America, involve Mexican and Honduran nationals.
Oscar Martinez Olmedo, a 44-year-old Mexican national, received an 18-month prison sentence from United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge. After serving his sentence, he will be removed from the country again. Olmedo was initially deported in December 2004 but reentered the U.S., leading to his arrest in February 2020 by Coatesville Police on multiple state charges. He faced convictions related to drug offenses and firearm sales and pleaded guilty to additional charges. ICE took him into custody in December 2024 following his state sentence completion.
Jimy Noe Meza-Hernandez, a 37-year-old Honduran national, was sentenced to time served—nearly four months—by United States District Judge John M. Younge. Meza-Hernandez had been deported in August 2012 after being apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol in Texas. In September 2024, he was arrested by Plymouth Meeting Police for harassment charges and later taken into ICE custody.
Fredy Soriano Palestino, a 32-year-old Mexican national, also received a time-served sentence of nearly three months from United States District Court Judge Kai N. Scott. Soriano Palestino was first deported in December 2011 after crossing the border illegally into Arizona. He reentered the U.S., leading to his March arrest on misdemeanor charges that were dismissed.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, aimed at combating illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators. The initiative involves collaboration between the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
The investigations were conducted by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations with prosecutions led by Assistant United States Attorneys Danielle Bateman, Katherine Shulman, and Kevin Jayne.
