United States v. Brown

354 F. Supp. 3d 362
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Brown. Read the opinion of the Court — 322 F. Supp. 3d 459
District Court, S.D. Illinois·Decided December 7, 2018·No. 18 Cr. 532 (AT)·Published

Opinion

ANALISA TORRES, District Judge:

Defendant, Malcolm Brown, moves to dismiss the indictment pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3)(B) on the ground that the underlying deportation order was based on the erroneous conclusion that he was ineligible for voluntary departure. Def. Mem., ECF No. 14. For the reasons stated below, the motion is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

Defendant, a Jamaican citizen, entered the United States as a minor sometime in the early 1990s. Kaminsky Decl. ¶ 3, ECF No. 13; Deportation Hearing Transcript, Kaminsky Decl. Ex. C at 7. On five occasions between 2000 and 2001, Defendant was convicted of sale of marijuana in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor, in violation of N.Y. Penal Law § 221.40. Kaminsky Decl. ¶ 5; Gov't Opp. at 2-3, ECF No. 17. He was sentenced to a total of thirty days in jail and three years' probation. Kaminsky Decl. ¶ 5. In December 2006, Defendant pleaded guilty to criminal possession of marijuana in the first degree, a felony, in violation of N.Y. Penal Law § 221.30, and was sentenced to five years' probation. Kaminsky Decl. ¶ 5; Gov't Opp. at 2-3.

On April 3, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Naturalization Services commenced removal proceedings against Defendant. Gov't Opp. at 3. On April 10, 2008, Defendant appeared pro se at the removal hearing before the Honorable Alan Vomacka (the "IJ"). Gov't Opp. at 3; Deportation Hearing Transcript at 2 ("He's present, he does not have an attorney."). As set forth in the colloquy below, at the hearing Defendant requested "voluntary departure" but the IJ informed him that he was ineligible because his convictions for the sale of marijuana constituted aggravated felonies:

Judge Vomacka: Alright, what would you like to do about the case? Do you want to have the hear-?
Defendant: Volunteer, volunteer.
Judge Vomacka: You're thinking about voluntary de-?
Defendant: Yeah.
Judge Vomacka: Departure?
Defendant: Yeah.
Judge Vomacka: Alright, well voluntary departure is something that comes up near the end of a hearing if you could be removed, if you're here illegally and you want to leave without actually being removed or deported. It may or may not be possible for you to qualify for that. I don't know enough about it. I can't promise ahead of time that you will get it. Your chance to get voluntary departure might be better if you have a lawyer to help you. Um, now the other thing is some people say 'voluntary departure' and what they mean is they just want to be deported, but there's a difference between the two. Deportation is when immigration pays for your ticket back to Jamaica or wherever.
Defendant: No, I know. Your family, your family, but departure, voluntary departure-*367Judge Vomacka: Right, so you know the difference?
Defendant: Yeah.
Judge Vomacka: Okay, so do you want to have the hearing today or do you want-?
Defendant: Yeah, yeah. I would-I would rather have the hearing today.
Judge Vomacka: Alright, you understand I'm not promising that you're going to qualify or get voluntary departure?
Defendant: No, no, it's no problem.
Judge Vomacka: [Reviews the Government's submission]. Um, let me just tell you that the rap sheet that was presented seems to indicate-I mean I don't know if it's true, but it looks like you may have at least two convictions for sale of marijuana back in 2001, um, and those indicate, uh, looks like terms of probation. Maybe even three convictions for sale of marijuana. I don't know, but if you have any one conviction for sale of any illegal drug, you are not going to qualify for voluntary departure, so I just want to make that clear to you. That's what's called an aggravated felony.
Deportation Hearing Transcript at 4-6.

Following the hearing, the IJ entered an order of removal, and on June 3, 2008, Defendant was removed from the United States. Compl. ¶ 3.c, ECF No. 1. In March 2009, Defendant reentered the United States, was convicted of illegal reentry after removal subsequent to a conviction for an aggravated felony in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a), (b)(2), and removed on August 26, 2010. Compl. ¶ 3.d-f. In 2018, Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned that Defendant had again reentered the United States. Compl. ¶ 4. On July 25, 2018, a grand jury indicted Defendant, charging him with illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a), (b)(1). Indictment, ECF No. 6.

Defendant moves to dismiss the indictment on the ground that the 2008 removal order, upon which the indictment is premised, "was obtained in violation of the [due process clause of the] Fifth Amendment because the immigration judge misinformed him that he was ineligible for voluntary-departure relief from removal." Def. Mem. at 1. Defendant contends that he was eligible for voluntary departure because his marijuana convictions were not aggravated felonies. Id. at 4-5.

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standard

A. Illegal Re-Entry and Voluntary Departure

" Section 1326(a) of Title 8 of the United States Code makes it a crime for a deported or removed alien to enter, attempt to enter, or be found in the United States without the express consent of the Attorney General." United States v. Calderon , No. 02 Cr. 0691, 2003 WL 1338943 at *4 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 9, 2003). Because a prior deportation order is an element of the crime, a noncitizen who was granted voluntary departure, rather than deported or removed, cannot be prosecuted for illegal reentry. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326

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United States v. Brown, 354 F. Supp. 3d 362 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

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