The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Elio Yoel Cardona-Torres, a 43-year-old Honduran citizen, has been sentenced to time-served—equivalent to five months in prison—by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann. This sentence comes after Cardona-Torres pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having previously been removed.
Acting United States Attorney John Gurganus reported that Cardona-Torres was arrested during targeted enforcement in Sayre, Pennsylvania, on February 22, 2025. He had previously been removed from the United States in 2006, 2008, and 2010 by court order and now faces deportation proceedings once again.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations, with Assistant United States Attorney Robin Zenzinger prosecuting.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that utilizes the full resources of the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The operation aims to protect communities from violent crime through coordinated efforts with the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
