United States v. Cruz-Ramos

392 F. Supp. 3d 720
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedJune 28, 2019
DocketEP-19-CR-1657-DB-(1)
StatusPublished

This text of 392 F. Supp. 3d 720 (United States v. Cruz-Ramos) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Cruz-Ramos, 392 F. Supp. 3d 720 (W.D. Tex. 2019).

Opinion

THE HONORABLE DAVID BRIONES, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On this day, the Court considered Defendant Antonio Cruz-Ramos's ("Mr. Cruz-Ramos") "Motion to Dismiss Indictment" ("Motion"), filed in the above-captioned case on June 7, 2019. On June 12, 2019, the United States of America ("the Government") filed its "Response in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment" ("Response"). After due consideration, the Court is of the opinion that Mr. Cruz-Ramos's Motion should be granted.

BACKGROUND

On May 22, 2019, a Grand Jury sitting in the Western District of Texas returned a single count Indictment ("Indictment"), which charges Mr. Cruz-Ramos with an alleged illegal reentry into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Indictment, ECF No. 10. Specifically, the Indictment alleges that on or about April 25, 2019, Mr. Cruz-Ramos, an undocumented immigrant who had previously been deported from the United States on or about July 24, 2008, was found in the United States again. Id.

On September 17, 1999, the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") issued Mr. Cruz-Ramos a Notice to Appear at an *723immigration hearing. Resp. Ex. A, ECF No. 19. The Notice to Appear alleged he was subject to removal from the United States for being a noncitizen present in the United States without being admitted or paroled. Id. It also stated that Mr. Cruz-Ramos was to appear before a United States Department of Justice immigration judge at a specified address. Id. But it did not indicate the date and time of that hearing. Id. Instead, the Notice to Appear indicated that the hearing would be on a date "to be set" and a time "to be set." Id. DHS filed the Notice to Appear with the immigration court. Resp. 2, ECF No. 19. The immigration court served Mr. Cruz-Ramos with a Notice of Hearing that contained the date, time, and place of the initial hearing. Resp. 2 Ex. B, ECF No. 19.

On October 18, 1999, the initial immigration hearing took place, at which Mr. Cruz-Ramos was present, and the immigration judge ordered him removed from the United States. Resp. Ex C, ECF No. 19. This removal order is the underlying removal order of the instant Indictment. See Resp. 2-3, ECF No. 19. Mr. Cruz-Ramos's Motion seeks to dismiss this Indictment.

ANALYSIS

Mr. Cruz-Ramos petitions the Court to dismiss the Indictment because the immigration court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to issue the original removal order after the Notice to Appear he received failed to include a date and time. Mot. 1-3, ECF No. 18. Therefore, the removal was void and cannot form the basis for the current Indictment for illegal reentry as he was never "removed" as a matter of law. Id. at 1.

First, the Government's Response takes issue with the definition of a Notice to Appear in 8 U.S.C. § 1229(a)(1), as opposed to the regulatory definition in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.15, which does not require a date and time to be in a Notice to Appear. Resp. 4, ECF No. 19. Second, the Government argues that Mr. Cruz-Ramos cannot meet any of the three § 1326(d) factors that a Defendant must satisfy to collaterally attack the validity of a prior removal. Id. at 1. Third, the Government argues that the "lawfulness or validity of a prior removal order is not an element of a § 1326 offense." Id. at 4. The Court disagrees with the Government for the following reasons.

1. A Valid Notice to Appear Must Include the Date and Time to Vest Jurisdiction in the Immigration Court.

According to a holistic analysis of the statutory and regulatory definitions of a Notice to Appear, as well as the Supreme Court's recent opinion in Pereira v. Sessions , the incomplete Notice to Appear did not vest jurisdiction. Therefore, Mr. Cruz-Ramos's underlying removal was void. The Indictment for illegal re-entry should be dismissed.

a. The Statutory Definition Controls Over the Regulatory Definition Upon Which the Government Relies.

The necessary components of a Notice to Appear are provided in two different places. Department of Justice regulation 8 C.F.R. § 1003.15(b) lists the information that must be included in every Notice to Appear, which does not require the Notice to Appear to specify the date and time of the noncitizen's removal hearing. But in 8 U.S.C. § 1229, Congress listed the necessary components of a Notice to Appear, including the "time and place at which the [removal] proceedings will be held." 8 U.S.C. § 1229(a)(1)(G)(i). The Government argues that the regulatory requirements for a Notice to Appear should control. Resp. 9, ECF No. 19 (citing *724Hernandez-Perez v. Whitaker ,

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CAMARILLO
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Bluebook (online)
392 F. Supp. 3d 720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-cruz-ramos-txwd-2019.