Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Return After Removal

 Gulfport, Miss. – Ivis Enemecio Ortiz-Reyes, 38, a citizen of Honduras, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Taylor McNeel to unlawful return of an alien after removal, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca, and Michael J. Harrison, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector. 

Ortiz-Reyes is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge McNeel on June 9, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.  in Gulfport.  He faces a potential maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine, as well as Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings.

On January 14, 2021, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent assigned to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Interdiction Unit conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle bearing a temporary Texas license plate near Exit 38 in Gulfport.  The driver had no driver’s license or other identification, and the agent noticed that there were two passengers with the odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle.  

During a probable cause search of the vehicle, the driver fled on foot, and Harrison County Sheriff’s Deputies, who were assisting, attempted to locate the driver but were unsuccessful.  Meanwhile, the Border Patrol Agent located narcotics hidden in a bag in the back seat and both passengers were detained.  One of the passengers was arrested in connection with the narcotics which is the subject of a separate, state case.

The other passenger was Ivis Enemecio Ortiz-Reyes, who was determined to be merely a passenger.  However, Ortiz-Reyes was confirmed as an illegal alien from Honduras who had been officially removed from the United States to his home nation of Honduras on February 3, 2017, via an Immigration & Customs Enforcement Air Charter from Harlingen, Texas. Officials also determined that Ortiz-Reyes had not received official permission to return to the United States. 

Acting U.S. Attorney LaMarca praised the cooperation of the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.