CEDAR RAPIDS – A Honduran man in the USA illegally and found in an Iowa jail has been sent to federal prison for returning multiple times after deportation.
Elder Moises Ramirez-Melgar, age 30, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States and residing in Postville, Iowa, received a 4-month prison term after a November 1, 2022, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.
At the guilty plea, Ramirez-Melgar admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Ramirez-Melgar was previously deported in September 2014 and March 2016. In February 2017, Ramirez-Melgar was convicted in Arizona of illegal entry into the United States and again deported in March 2017. In March 2020, Ramirez-Melgar was again convicted in Arizona of illegal entry into the United States and again deported in May 2020. On October 3, 2022, immigration officials learned Ramirez-Melgar had illegally returned to the United States and found Ramirez-Melgar at the Allamakee County Jail following his arrest on state charges.
Ramirez-Melgar was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Ramirez-Melgar was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Ramirez-Melgar 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.
