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NEW ORLEANS, LA – Elvin Leonardo Oliva-Rodriguez, 37, a citizen of Honduras, is facing federal charges after a routine traffic stop on I-12 blew his cover. Border Patrol agents pulled him over traveling westbound and quickly discovered he wasn’t who he said he was.
Rodriguez, already deported back to Honduras on February 28, 2014, following an arrest in McAllen, Texas, allegedly made the perilous journey back into the United States. Now, he’s been indicted for illegal re-entry, a violation of federal law.
If convicted, Rodriguez is looking at a maximum sentence of two years in a federal prison, plus a hefty fine of up to $250,000. He’ll also be on supervised release for up to a year and hit with a $100 assessment fee.
US Attorney David I. Courcelle was quick to note that an indictment isn’t a conviction; the government still needs to prove Rodriguez’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The case is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a sweeping federal initiative aimed at curbing illegal immigration and dismantling transnational criminal organizations. The operation pulls resources from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood.
The investigation was led by Homeland Security and Customs Enforcement Border Protection, with the prosecution handled by Assistant US Attorney Spiro G. Latsis.