Honduran National Sentenced for Illegally Entering the US After a Prior Removal

PORTLAND, Maine: A Honduran national was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for illegally entering the U.S. after a prior removal.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr., sentenced Josue Osmin Montoya Acosta, 36, to time served (approximately 93 days). Montoya Acosta pleaded guilty on April 3, 2025.

According to court records, on February 25, 2025, Montoya Acosta 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. Immigration records showed that he had previously been removed on two prior occasions.

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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