Honduran National Sentenced For “Illegal Re-Entry After Deportation By An Aggravated Felon”

James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Jose Zuniga-Amador, age 33, a Honduran citizen, was sentenced on January 22, 2016 to 30 months’ imprisonment for Illegal Re-Entry After Deportation By An Aggravated Felon.

Zuniga-Amador pled guilty to the federal charge on October 7, 2015. At his change of plea hearing in October, Zuniga-Amador admitted that he had been previously deported from the United States to Honduras on five separate occasions between 2000 and 2012.

In addition to the 30 month sentence on his new federal case, Zuniga-Amador’s supervised release was also revoked on a previous 2012 federal conviction for the same offense. Zuniga-Amador was sentenced to 10 months on his earlier case, to be served consecutively, for a total sentence of 40 months imprisonment. Upon release from federal prison, the Court noted that Zuniga-Amador will be placed in deportation proceedings.

The investigation which resulted in Zuniga-Amador’s arrest and conviction was conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), and by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert L. Garrison.