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Press Release

Honduran Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Reentry by a Removed Alien

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Mississippi

GULFPORT, MS – A Honduran man pleaded guilty on April 16, 2025, to Unlawful Reentry into the United States by a Deported or Removed Alien.  According to court documents, Denis Ramon Flores Ortez, age 40, of Honduras pleaded guilty to this federal felony offense in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.

Flores Ortez is scheduled to be sentenced on August 19, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Federal law also provides for Flores Ortez to face Homeland Security removal proceedings after serving any sentence of imprisonment.

On February 3, 2025, the U.S. Border Patrol encountered Flores Ortez, at the Harrison County Adult Detention Center in Gulfport.  As a result of official records checks, Flores Ortez was found to be an illegal alien from Honduras who had been lawfully removed from the United States.

Flores Ortez illegally entered the U.S. in 2004, and was afforded the privilege of a voluntary departure in lieu of removal. In 2010, Flores Ortez illegally reentered the U.S. and was apprehended by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) after his arrest in Jackson County.  A removal order was issued against him, and he was physically removed from the U.S.  Thereafter, he unlawfully reentered the U.S. after removal and was arrested in Gulfport, MS, in 2025.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon, praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Border Patrol.  Lemon and Eric P. DeLaune, Special Agent-in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Adam M. Calderon, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector, made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline 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 (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). 

Contact

Contact: Karen Coates
Public Affairs Officer
Karen.coates@usdoj.gov
 

Updated April 18, 2025