Honduran man pleads guilty to immigration charges

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Wilmer Orlando Canelas-Najera, 44, a citizen of Honduras, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to illegal reentry and taking action to prevent his departure from the United States. Canelas-Najera was then sentenced to time served and turned over the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno, who handled the case, stated that Canelas-Najera is an alien without any legal status in the United States. He was born in and is a citizen and National of Honduras. Canelas-Najera was ordered removed from the United States in 1997 but failed to appear at his immigration hearing. He was apprehended in March 2017, and removed from the country. Canelas was apprehended once again in September 2017 and ordered removed.

On April 1, 2025, at approximately 8:15 p.m., Canelas-Najera was found by United States Border Patrol agents in the vicinity of a hotel on Millersport Highway, in Amherst, NY. As agents approached and asked if he was “Wilmer,” Canelas-Najera ran, crossing eight lanes of traffic on Millersport Highway and causing vehicles to have to brake abruptly. A Border Patrol agent chased Canelas-Najera across Millersport Highway but lost sight of him. At approximately 1:30 a.m. on April 2, 2025, Canelas-Najera was again observed in the vicinity of the same hotel. A Border Patrol agent entered the hotel and found him in a hallway on the 5th floor. The agent identified himself and attempted to apprehend Canelas-Najera, who repeatedly pushed the agent away, went around him into a hotel room, and locked the hotel room door. At approximately 12:00 p.m., hotel personnel unlocked the hotel room door and Border Patrol agents apprehended him.

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.

The plea and sentencing are the result of an investigation by U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent-in-Charge Martin B. Coombs.         

# # # #