DES MOINES, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Honduran citizen was sentenced on August 8, 2025, to 18 months in federal prison for illegally returning to the United States after being deported.

According to public court documents, Mario Fernando Padilla Barahona, 28, had previously been deported from the United States once in 2020. In September 2024, law enforcement encountered Padilla Barahona when he was arrested for operating while intoxicated after he drove on the wrong side of the road, lost control of his vehicle, and crashed into a utility pole. Prior to his 2020 removal, Padilla Barahona was convicted of online solicitation of a minor in the Texas District Court for Montgomery County.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Padilla Barahona will be required to serve a two-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.