A Houston jury has delivered a guilty verdict against Leonardo Fernando Batz, a Guatemalan national, for unlawfully re-entering the United States without authorization.
According to the evidence presented, Batz had previously been removed from the country in 2007 and again in 2020, but he continued to re-enter the US, most recently on November 23, 2023, in Harris County.
The jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Batz guilty as charged following a three-day trial. The prosecution presented testimony from a Border Patrol agent who described his encounter with Batz in the Rio Grande Valley in September 2019, and a deportation officer who recounted how he rode with Batz when he was removed via plane from the US to Guatemala in 2020.
The jury also saw evidence including Batz’s Guatemalan passport, a travel pass issued by the Guatemalan consulate, and various other documents from his alien file. A fingerprint expert identified Batz as the same person documented in the deportation materials.
The defense questioned the trustworthiness of the government’s evidence, but the jury did not believe those claims and found Batz guilty as charged.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt presided over the trial and set sentencing for May 1, 2025. At that time, Batz faces up to 2 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He will remain in custody pending the hearing.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative aimed at repelling the invasion of illegal immigration, eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime.
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