The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced the sentencing of Noel Chinchilla-Avilez, a 26-year-old Honduran national. Senior United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced him to 54 days in prison for failing to leave the United States after an order of removal and for hindering his removal from the country.
According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Chinchilla-Avilez was ordered to leave the United States in 2023 but did not do so within the allotted 90-day period. When Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained him for removal in February 2025, Chinchilla-Avilez escaped from handcuffs and attempted to flee.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Scalera prosecuted the case.
This case is part of "Operation Take Back America," a nationwide effort that employs the Department of Justice's resources to address illegal immigration and combat cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The operation aims to safeguard communities from violent crime and is supported by the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and the Project Safe Neighborhood initiative.