United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana
07/31/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/31/2026 17:27
Honduran Illegal Alien Sentenced to Prison
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - ERIK ROBERTO MACHADO-MENCIA, a/k/a "Roberto Machado-Mencia," age 37, a native of Honduras, was sentenced by United States District Judge Susie Morgan on July 30, 2026, to three months in federal prison arising out of his conviction for illegal re-entry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.
According to court documents, MACHADO-MENCIA was found in the United States on May 15, 2025, having reentered the United States without authorization from the Attorney General of the United States after being previously deported on December 16, 2019.
On May 15, 2025, agents with the U.S. Border Patrol were working highway interdiction on Interstate 12 near Lacombe, Louisiana, when a vehicle with a fictitious license plate passed the agents. The agents conducted a traffic stop and determined that one of the occupants of the vehicle, MACHADO-MENCIA, was a citizen of Honduras who had been previously removed from the United States.
U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle praised the work of the U.S. Border Patrol in investigating this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr.
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.
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