Repeat Deportee Aguirre-Murillo Admits Illegal Return

BOSTON – Denis Aguirre-Murillo, 40, a Honduran national formerly residing in Fall River, Massachusetts, has confessed to the crime he was always going to commit again: illegally re-entering the United States after being repeatedly kicked out. The plea, entered today in U.S. District Court, confirms what immigration authorities have been battling for years – a revolving door for individuals deported for serious offenses.

Aguirre-Murillo pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Judge Leo T. Sorokin has set sentencing for November 12, 2025, following an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in July 2025. This isn’t a first offense. Far from it. Records show Aguirre-Murillo was deported to Honduras three times – July 2007, March 2016, and January 2021. Each time, he found a way back.

The latest chapter began after his January 2021 removal when he unlawfully re-entered the U.S. at an unspecified time and location. Immigration authorities caught wind of his presence on May 4, 2024, when he was arrested in Fall River under an alias. The initial charges were damning: intimidation and rape. Those accusations were later amended to indecent assault and battery, but the damage was done. A detainer was lodged, a signal to federal authorities to hold him for immigration violations.

But the system failed. On February 19, 2025, Aguirre-Murillo was inexplicably released from local custody without notification to ICE. It took another three months, May 29, 2025, for authorities to finally re-apprehend him and take him into immigration custody. The lapse raises serious questions about communication and cooperation between local and federal law enforcement, a familiar refrain in these cases.

The charge of unlawful reentry carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. And, predictably, Aguirre-Murillo will be subject to deportation again upon completion of his sentence. However, given his history, that’s hardly a deterrent. Sentencing will be determined by Judge Sorokin, taking into account U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and applicable statutes.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, jointly announced the guilty plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie A. Queenin of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case. It’s important to remember that the information presented in the charging documents constitutes allegations, and Aguirre-Murillo is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.