Four foreign nationals were sentenced this week in Philadelphia for illegally reentering the United States after previous deportations, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney David Metcalf.
Kevin Emmanuel Rodriguez-Martinez, 32, a Honduran national, received a sentence of time served—just over two months—from United States District Judge Catherine Henry. Rodriguez-Martinez had previously been removed from the country in September 2011 and November 2012 following encounters with U.S. Border Patrol in Texas. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) discovered his unlawful return in May of this year. He was found and taken into custody by HSI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in June. Charged by information with illegal reentry that same month, he pleaded guilty this week and waived prosecution by indictment. Upon completion of his sentence, he will be removed from the United States again.
Osman Guevara-Guevara, 35, also a Honduran national, was sentenced to time served—about two and a half months—by United States District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. Guevara-Guevara was first arrested by ICE near Seattle in February 2012 and removed to Honduras in April that year. He reentered the U.S., was arrested again by U.S. Border Patrol in southern Texas in March 2013, and removed once more the following month. Earlier this year, ICE learned that he had been arrested by Phoenixville Police Department after entering the country without authorization for a third time; he was taken into custody in June. In July, he was charged by indictment with illegal reentry and pleaded guilty this week.
Jorge Miles, 30, a Mexican national, received an eight-month prison sentence from United States District Judge Mary Kay Costello for illegally reentering the country. Miles had previously been removed from the U.S. in March 2014 after pleading guilty to robbery following his arrest by East Norriton Township Police Department. He later returned unlawfully on an unknown date before being arrested earlier this year by West Whiteland Township Police Department; ICE took him into custody in February. He was charged with illegal reentry in April and pleaded guilty in May.
Yobani Bonilla-Bonilla (also known as Gilberto Perez Alvarado), 40, a Honduran national, was sentenced to nearly two months’ time served for illegal reentry by Judge Henry on Monday. Bonilla-Bonilla had previously been removed from the U.S. in June 2015 after being encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in Texas before returning unlawfully at an unknown date. In May of this year, ICE received information that Bonilla-Bonilla was living in Easton, Pennsylvania and had an active arrest warrant for him in Honduras; he was located and taken into custody with assistance from HSI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in June. He was charged with illegal reentry by indictment in July and pleaded guilty this week.
“These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” said Metcalf’s office. “Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).”
The investigations were conducted by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, HSI, and DEA; prosecutions were handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Rosalynda M. Michetti, Rebecca Kulik, and Shayna Gannone.
