FILE - A Portland police officer walks at the scene of a U.S. Border Patrol shooting of two people in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 8, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
The woman shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Portland Jan. 8 pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal misdemeanor, for improperly entering the United States more than two years ago.
A federal judge sentenced Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras to one year of probation.
According to court records, Zambrano-Contreras entered into the U.S. on Sept. 16, 2023, through the southern border, roughly one mile east of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas.
Border Patrol arrested her and “released on her own recognizance due to lack of space in the detention facility,” according to a court filing.
Zambrano-Contreras was first charged with the misdemeanor the day after she was wounded during the Jan. 8 shooting.
Federal prosecutors say she was the passenger in a pickup that drove off from a traffic stop. When one of the immigration officers asked her to step out of the vehicle, prosecutors allege she shook her head “no.”
FILE - Images of the red Toyota Tacoma truck driven by Luis Nino-Moncada included in a U.S. Department of Justice court filing on Jan. 12, 2026. Moncada and Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras were shot in Portland by the U.S. Border Patrol Jan. 8.
Images via U.S Department of Justice court filing
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Zambrano-Contreras was the target of that immigration operation.
The government’s search for Zambrano-Contreras stemmed from a public tip.
“Concerned citizens provided law enforcement with information that the two individuals may have been involved in a shooting in Portland,” the Border Patrol agent wrote in court filings.
After she was arrested in 2023, Zambrano-Contreras was given a 2028 immigration court date.
Records show Zambrano-Contreras remains in custody at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington.
