The illegal immigrant who allegedly tried to hijack a United Airlines flight this week was allowed to stay in the United States after two deportations by claiming to be transgender, a law enforcement source told The Daily Wire.
Honduran man Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto said he had a bomb when he tried to storm the cockpit of United Flight 2174, which departed from Newark to New Orleans on Monday night. It was later revealed that he crossed the Southern border illegally once in 2011 and again in 2014, getting removed from the United States each time before making a third successful attempt to enter the country.
On his third attempt to enter, which occurred at the port of entry in San Ysidro, California, in 2019, Gomez-Alberto claimed to have a fear of returning to his home country and was allowed to argue his case before a judge, according to the source. That case centered around his claim of being transgender, which he said placed a target on his back at home.
He was granted asylum in 2020 based on his claim of being persecuted for being transgender. At one point, he also told federal authorities he was HIV positive and that he was an avid marijuana user.
Gomez-Alberto was detained in the back of the plane after the flight crew convinced him to move away from the cockpit to allow the plane to land safely in New Orleans, according to the New York Post, citing air traffic control audio.
“He changed into all black before he started trying to reach the cockpit,” local authorities were heard saying in the audio recording, according to the New York Post.
Police arrested Gomez-Alberto after the plane landed at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, the outlet reported.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
United Airlines said the flight, carrying 46 passengers and six crew members, “landed safely following a disruptive incident involving a passenger onboard,” according to Fox News.
“Law enforcement met the aircraft upon arrival,” the airline said.
Gomez-Alberto was taken into the custody of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing, according to local reports.
Since his hijacking attempt, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has asked local authorities in Louisiana to transfer him to federal custody upon any future release, a Homeland Security spokesperson told The Daily Wire.
“On November 10, 2026, ICE lodged a detainer for Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, with Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after he attempted to gain entry to the cockpit during a flight,” the spokesperson said.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are NOT welcome in the United States,” the spokesperson added.
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