Marvin Enrique Pena-Portillo, a 38-year-old Honduran national living unlawfully in Philadelphia, was sentenced to seven months in prison and two years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a felon. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Mia Roberts Perez.
Pena-Portillo was initially arrested in April 2025 on a criminal complaint and warrant. He later pleaded guilty in July after being charged by information in June, choosing to waive prosecution by indictment.
According to court filings and statements from the defendant, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) found Pena-Portillo with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol in his waistband during his arrest for immigration violations on April 15, 2025.
Previously, in August 2024, Pena-Portillo had pleaded guilty in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to carrying an illegal firearm in public. For that offense, he received a sentence of two years’ probation.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America. According to the press release: “This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
The investigation involved ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations as well as ATF. Assistant United States Attorney Robert Eckert prosecuted the case.
