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

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

Jose Lopez-Martinez, age 42, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States and residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 19, 2023, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.

At the guilty plea, Lopez-Martinez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government.  Lopez-Martinez was previously deported to Honduras in April 2000, March 2001, March 2011, July 2011, October 2011, November 2011, February 2012, August 2012, and July 2014.  On November 21, 2022, immigration officials learned Lopez-Martinez had illegally returned to the United States and found Lopez-Martinez at the Linn County Jail following his arrest for operating while intoxicated.

Lopez-Martinez was previously convicted in the Northern District of Iowa in January 2014 of illegally reentering the United States, a felony, and received an eight-month prison term.  Lopez-Martinez also has prior convictions in Texas for misdemeanor illegal entry into the United States in April 2011 and December 2011. 

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

Lopez-Martinez 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-96.

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