PORTLAND — A Honduran man stopped in Auburn for allegedly driving without a license appeared in federal court Monday on a charge of re-entry of a deported person.

Daniel Garcia-Mejia, 52, waived his right to challenge whether there was probable cause to charge him with the Class D felony, but did not admit guilt to the charge. A grand jury has not handed up an indictment on the charge. An indictment would establish probable cause for the alleged crime.

He answered in Spanish questions posed by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John H. Rich III through an interpreter who spoke to the defendant through a phone he held to his ear during the hearing.

When asked whether he felt rushed or pressured to waive his right to a probable cause hearing, Garcia-Mejia answered that he wanted to present evidence to the court that “it is dangerous for me to return to Honduras now.”

Rich told the defendant that he will be given an opportunity at a different type of hearing in immigration court to present that evidence.

Garcia-Merjia also waived his right to a detention hearing and will continue to be held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement until he goes to trial, Judge Rich said.

Should Garcia-Mejia’s circumstances change, he would be allowed to argue for bail at a future detention hearing, Rich said.

If convicted, Garcia-Mejia faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

He was allegedly deported from the United States in April 2009, but discovered in Mission, Texas, in September 2009. His final order of deportation to Honduras was reinstated Sept. 30, 2009, according to court papers.

Earlier this month, an Auburn police officer arrested Garcia-Mejia for operating a motor vehicle without a license, according to an affidavit by a deportation officer with the Department of Homeland Security.

While Garcia-Mejia was at Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn, authorities discovered he had been deported and wasn’t allowed to re-enter the country.

According to the affidavit, he admitted he had entered this country illegally about eight years ago.

Prosecutors dismissed the unlicensed driving charge and he was taken into ICE custody.

Nathan Gooding, the deportation officer who submitted the affidavit in court papers, wrote that he interviewed Garcia-Mejia in English because the defendant told him he spoke and understood English well. After listening to his Miranda rights, he asked to speak with his lawyer, Gooding wrote.

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