Honduran Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States After Being Deported Four Times

A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to four months in federal prison.

Elder Moises Ramirez-Melgar, age 30, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States and residing in Postville, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 1, 2022, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.

At the guilty plea, Ramirez-Melgar admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government.  Ramirez-Melgar was previously deported in September 2014 and March 2016.  In February 2017, Ramirez-Melgar was convicted in Arizona of illegal entry into the United States and again deported in March 2017.  In March 2020, Ramirez-Melgar was again convicted in Arizona of illegal entry into the United States and again deported in May 2020.  On October 3, 2022, immigration officials learned Ramirez-Melgar had illegally returned to the United States and found Ramirez-Melgar at the Allamakee County Jail following his arrest on state charges. 

Ramirez-Melgar was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Ramirez-Melgar was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Ramirez-Melgar is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 22-CR-1038.

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