Honduran National Pleads Guilty to Illegally Entering the US After a Prior Removal

PORTLAND, Maine: A Honduran national pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to illegally entering the U.S. after a prior removal.

According to court records, on February 25, 2025, Josue Osmin Montoya Acosta, 36, was observed by an officer from the Brunswick Police Department operating a vehicle with no front license plate and no light on the rear license plate. The rear plate was later determined to be a temporary plate from Indiana. When asked for his license, Montoya Acosta presented a Honduran passport and told the officer he did not have a driver’s license. When asked if he had a visa, he told the officer he did not. The officer contacted a Border Patrol agent, and records showed that Montoya Acosta had previously been removed from the country twice and did not have a visa or other documentation that would allow him to re-enter the United States.

Montoya Acosta faces a maximum prison term of two years and a fine up to $250,000. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigated the case with assistance from the Brunswick Police Department.

Operation Take Back America: This case is 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

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