United States of America v. Jorge Alberto Soberanes-Nunez

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided*
by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
The Honorable Lloyd D. George, Senior United States District Judge for the District of**
Nevada, sitting by designation.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
JORGE ALBERTO SOBERANES-NUNEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
No. 09-50262
D.C. No. 08CR04128-LAB
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Larry A. Burns, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted March 1, 2010
Pasadena, California
Before: GOULD and IKUTA, Circuit Judges, and GEORGE, Senior District
Judge.**
Appellant Jorge Soberanes was a lawful permanent resident in the United
States when he was convicted on February 16, 1999, in Fresno County, California,
FILED
MAR 18 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U .S. C OU R T OF APPE ALS

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of conspiracy to sell heroin and sentenced to six years’ custody. On March 26,
2003, Soberanes appeared before the immigration judge who ordered that he be
removed from the United States to Mexico. The 2003 order became final when
Soberanes’ appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was dismissed for failure
to prosecute on September 29, 2005.
Soberanes was not removed, but was convicted on November 30, 2006, in
Los Angeles County, California, for possessing marijuana for sale and sentenced to
two years’ custody. On March 26, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security
issued a warrant of removal/deportation for Soberanes, and removed him to Mexico
on April 2, 2008.
On October 30, 2008, a border patrol agent discovered Soberanes hiding in
the brush on the United States side of the border between Tecate and Campo,
California. Soberanes was indicted for attempted reentry after deportation in
violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b). After a one-day bench trial, he was
convicted and sentenced to 51 months’ incarceration.
On appeal, Soberanes argues that his 2008 removal was illegal because the
2008 warrant of removal/deportation cited an inapplicable statute, Section 241(a)(5)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(5), as authority.
Section 1231(a)(5) provides for the reinstatement of a prior removal order when an

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alien has “reentered the United States illegally after having been removed or having
departed voluntarily, under an order of removal.” Soberanes submits that he was
neither removed nor departed voluntarily from the United States before the 2008
warrant of removal/deportation was issued.
The lawfulness of a prior deportation is not an element of the offense under §
1326. United States v. Alvarado-Delgado, 98 F.3d 492, 494 (9th Cir. 1996) (en
banc). At trial, the government proved, and Soberanes conceded, that he was in fact
removed upon execution of the 2008 warrant of removal/deportation. The evidence
was therefore sufficient to convict Soberanes under § 1326. See United States v.
Medina, 236 F.3d 1028, 1030 (9th Cir. 2001).
While a defendant charged under § 1326 can collaterally attack a prior
deportation by showing that the proceedings were so fundamentally flawed as to
effectively eliminate the right to judicial review, such a defendant must also show
prejudice as a result of the error. Alvarado-Delgado, 98 F.3d at 494. Here,
Soberanes suffered no prejudice as a result of the citation of inapplicable statutory
authority in the 2008 warrant of removal/deportation because he still remained
subject to removal based on the 2003 removal order that became final in 2005 after
full judicial review. Because Soberanes suffered no prejudice, the district court did

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not err in refusing to dismiss the indictment. See United States v. Moriel-Luna, 585
F.3d 1191, 1196 (9th Cir. 2009).
AFFIRMED.

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