A Honduran citizen has been sentenced to twelve months in federal prison for illegal reentry into the United States. Dery Joncarlos Zelaya-Zelaya, also known as Dery Zelaya, was sentenced by United States District Judge Susie Morgan on August 26, 2025. The sentencing follows Zelaya-Zelaya’s guilty plea to a violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), which addresses the illegal reentry of a removed alien.
In addition to the prison term, Zelaya-Zelaya, age 27, will serve one year of supervised release after completing his sentence and must pay a mandatory $100 special assessment cost.
Court documents state that Zelaya-Zelaya had previously been removed from the United States on two occasions: May 13, 2022 and December 4, 2019. He did not have permission from either the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to return.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson acknowledged the efforts of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement Removal Operations in investigating this case. Assistant United States Attorney Duane A. Evans from the General Crimes Unit led the prosecution.
“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).”
