Three foreign nationals who illegally returned to the United States after being deported were convicted in federal court this month and are now facing deportation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The cases involve two Mexican nationals and one Honduran national, who, according to federal prosecutors, reentered the United States after previous deportations and were later identified by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following separate confrontations with local law enforcement.
All three offenders received time-served sentences and will be deported once their federal prosecutions are completed.
Mexican National Deported Three Times Before Returning
U.S. District Judge Karen Spencer Marston sentenced the first defendant, Leobardo Lopez-Garcia, also known as Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, 46, to almost ten months in prison for unauthorized re-entry.
According to federal prosecutors, Lopez-Garcia was previously removed from the United States three times — in October 2000, January 2004, and January 2006 — after confrontations with US Border Patrol authorities in Arizona.
ICE became aware of his existence in the United States after he was apprehended by the Hatfield Township Police Department in April 2023 for driving under the influence. He later pleaded guilty to the DUI charge in Montgomery County Court.
Lopez-Garcia was detained by federal officials in August 2025, and in March 2026, he pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry.
ICE Located Second Defendant After Philadelphia Arrest
U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond sentenced a second defendant, Mexican national Baudilio Lopez-Ramirez, 37, to around two and a half months in prison.
According to authorities, Lopez-Ramirez was previously deported in March 2012 after being detained by the United States Border Patrol in Arizona.
The Philadelphia Police Department apprehended him in December 2025, which led ICE to become aware of his presence in the country.
In February, federal officials arrested him, and in April, he pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry.
U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. sentenced the third defendant, Honduran national Jose Fernando Gomez-Urquia, 32, to about two months of time served.
Honduran National Previously Convicted in Chester County
According to federal officials, Gomez-Urquia was already deported in May 2016 after a confrontation with Border Patrol agents in Texas.
ICE learned of his presence in Pennsylvania after he was apprehended by the Coatesville Police Department in November 2025.
In March 2026, Gomez-Urquia pled guilty in Chester County Court to making terroristic threats with the aim to intimidate another person and was sentenced to time served.
Federal officials subsequently accused him of illegal re-entry. He pleaded guilty this month.
Part of Nationwide Immigration Enforcement Initiative
According to the US Attorney’s Office, the cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice strategy that focuses on immigration enforcement, transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced the sentences Friday.
All three defendants have completed or are nearing completion of their federal sentences and are expected to be removed from the United States as immigration proceedings move forward.
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