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New Orleans, LA – Miguel Angel Lopez-Mejia, 34, walked out of a federal courtroom this week having already served his sentence for sneaking back into the country. Lopez-Mejia, a citizen of Honduras, was sentenced on March 17, 2026, after pleading guilty to illegal reentry – a federal charge under Title 8, Section 1326(a). He’d been kicked out of the U.S. back in July of 2022 and then popped again on October 16, 2025.
Judge Darrel James Papillion handed down a time-served sentence, plus one year of supervised release and a $100 fine. More importantly, Lopez-Mejia is now in the hands of Customs and Border Protection, headed back to Honduras.
Federal prosecutors are framing this case as part of “Operation Take Back America,” a broad-stroke initiative aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and dismantling cartels. It’s a familiar tune, pulling resources from both the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle gave a nod to CBP for their work on the investigation. The prosecution was handled by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick Veters, Jr. of the General Crimes Unit.