Richard D. Westphal, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa
Richard D. Westphal, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa
A Honduran citizen, Mario Fernando Padilla Barahona, was sentenced on August 8, 2025, to 18 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after being deported. According to public court documents, Padilla Barahona, age 28, had previously been removed from the country in 2020.
Law enforcement encountered Padilla Barahona in September 2024 when he was arrested for operating while intoxicated. Authorities reported that he drove on the wrong side of the road and crashed into a utility pole. Before his removal in 2020, Padilla Barahona had been convicted of online solicitation of a minor in Montgomery County, Texas.
After serving his prison sentence, Padilla Barahona will be subject to a two-year term of supervised release. Federal sentencing does not allow for parole.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced the sentence. The Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated the case.
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