Honduran who was in U.S. illegally sentenced to prison, been held in Cascade County jail for months

A Honduran man who was in the U.S. illegally was sentenced in federal court Aug. 27 to three months in prison, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

Nahun Esau Suazo-Varela, 48, pleaded guilty in June 2025 to illegal reentry.

He’s been held in the Cascade County Adult Detention Center since May 22, according to the county inmate roster.

As of Aug. 227, there are 12 other inmates being held in the county jail designated “immigration inmate,” which could be U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection holds.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

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The government alleged in court documents that on May 22, 2025, law enforcement identified a vehicle in Havre registered to an individual who had overstayed the terms of admission into the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop and identified Suazo-Varela as the passenger in the vehicle.

He presented his Honduran passport and acknowledged he had no immigration documents allowing him to legally be in the U.S.

Suazo-Varela was transported to the Havre Border Patrol Station, where he acknowledged he had illegally crossed into the U.S. after his deportation near McAllen, Texas, in October 2010, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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Between 2006 and 2010, Suazo-Varela had numerous law enforcement contacts in Ohio for traffic-related offenses.  He was ordered removed from the U.S. on Sept. 30, 2010.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the United States Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the U.S. Department of Justice to stop illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect communities from perpetrators of violent crime.

Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the DOJ’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.