A man from Honduras who repeatedly entered the U.S. without permission has pleaded guilty to immigration charges and been sentenced to time served.
Wilmer Orlando Canelas-Najera, 44, was sentenced Tuesday in Buffalo after admitting to illegal reentry and attempting to prevent his removal from the United States.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said Canelas-Najera had no legal status and was first ordered removed in 1997 after failing to appear at an immigration hearing. He was deported in March 2017, caught again that September, and ordered removed a second time.
On April 1, U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted Canelas-Najera near a hotel on Millersport Highway in Amherst, New York. When agents approached and asked for “Wilmer,” he ran, darting across eight lanes of traffic and causing several vehicles to brake abruptly.
Agents found him again early the next morning inside the same hotel. He refused to comply, shoved a Border Patrol agent, and locked himself in a hotel room. Around noon, hotel staff unlocked the door, and agents took him into custody.
Following his sentencing, Canelas-Najera was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a national initiative to combat illegal immigration and disrupt transnational criminal organizations.
The investigation was led by U.S. Border Patrol under the direction of Patrol Agent-in-Charge Martin B. Coombs.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].