Honduran National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Re-entry

PROVIDENCE - A Honduran national previously deported from the United States has pleaded guilty in federal court in Rhode Island to illegal re-entry, announced United States Attorney Charles C. Calenda.

Pedro Marquez Benetiz, 56, pleaded guilty today to one count of illegal re-entry after deportation and was also sentenced to time served.

According to information presented to the court, Marquez Benetiz was deported from the United States in January 2020. In June 2025, he was arrested by law enforcement on a charge of simple assault. Immigration officers subsequently determined his presence in the United States through an automated biometric fingerprint match.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dulce Donovan.

The matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).