United States v. Emilio Estrada

876 F.3d 885
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedDecember 4, 2017
Docket17-5081
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 876 F.3d 885 (United States v. Emilio Estrada) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Emilio Estrada, 876 F.3d 885 (6th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

COOK, Circuit Judge.

Emilio Estrada, a Mexican citizen, entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry following removal. The district court denied his motions to dismiss the indictment, and Estrada appeals. His challenge hinges on collaterally attacking his original removal proceedings. Because Estrada falls short of the statutory requirements to lodge this attack on the underlying removal order, we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment.

I.

In November 2007, undercover officers attempting a controlled purchase of methamphetamine arrested Emilio Estrada upon finding meth in his pocket and a'rifle and ammunition in his car. He eventually pleaded guilty to possession óf a firearm by an unlawful* user of a controlled substance, see 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), and the district court sentenced him to 12 months’ imprisonment plus two years of supervised release.

Owing to this conviction for an aggravated felony, see 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(E)(ii), Estrada—a green-card holder but not a U.S. citizen-v-was ordered to appear in immigration court for removal 1 proceedings, see id. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). At his first appearance, Estrada confirmed he understood his rights as read by the Immigration Judge to a group of respondents. He then advised the Immigration Judge that he had retained counsel; Estrada’s counsel (Vincent Anderson), however, was neither present nor had he entered an appearance, and the judge continued the case. Estrada appeared again several weeks later with his newly retained counsel (Luke Abrus-ley), who admitted the facts alleged in the Notice to Appear and conceded Estrada’s removability. Noting the unavailability of other' relief, the Immigration Judge ordered Estrada removed to his home country of Mexico. Estrada waived his right to appeal, and he. was deported in March 2009.

Six years later, law enforcement discovered Estrada in the United States without permission. A federal grand jury charged him with two counts of illegal reentry following deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2). Estrada moved to dismiss the indictment via a collateral attack on the underlying deportation order, arguing that the Immigration Judge violated his due process rights by failing to advise hind of the possibility of discretionary relief from removal* under § 212(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Id. § 1182(h). He filed an amended motion to dismiss making similar arguments, but the district court found no' due process violation and thus denied both motions.

Undeterred, Estrada amended once more. He again collaterally attacked the deportation order on due process grounds, newly alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorneys “failed to advise him of or present to the Immigration Court his eligibility for relief from deportation” under INA § 212(h). Reiterating that Estrada had no constitutionally-protected liberty interest in securing discretionary relief, the district court denied the motion.

Estrada ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry. As part of his plea agreement, he reserved the right to appeal the denials of his motions to dismiss. We now entertain Estrada’s timely appeal.

II.

A.

We review de novo a defendant’s collateral attack on the deportation order underlying his conviction for unlawful reentry. United States v. Zuñiga-Guerrero, 460 F.3d 733, 736 (6th Cir. 2006).

A defendant charged with unlawful reentry may not challenge the validity of his deportation order unless he demonstrates that: “(1) [he] exhausted any administrative remedies that may have been available to seek relief against the order; (2) the deportation proceedings at which the order was issued improperly deprived [him] of the opportunity for judicial review; and (3) the entry of the order was fundamentally unfair.” 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d). Because the requirements are conjunctive,- the alien must satisfy all three prongs. Estrada focuses on the third one; like the district court, we begin—and end—our analysis there.

B.

“Fifth Amendment guarantees of due process extend to aliens in deportation proceedings, entitling them to a full and fair hearing.” Huicochea-Gomez v. INS, 237 F.3d 696, 699 (6th Cir. 2001). Estrada contends that his due process rights were violated when his attorneys “failed to advise him of or present to the Immigration Court his eligibility for relief from deportation under” INA § 212(h). Accordingly, he claims that the entry of his removal order was fundamentally unfair.

To prove the fundamental unfairness of an underlying deportation order, a defendant must show both a due process violation emanating from defects in the underlying deportation proceeding and resulting prejudice. Id.; see also United States v. Lopez-Collazo, 824 F.3d 453, 460 (4th Cir. 2016); United States v. Cisneros-Rodriguez, 813 F.3d 748, 756 (9th Cir. 2015); United States v. Luna, 436 F.3d 312, 319 (1st Cir. 2006). With respect to the procedural component, the defendant “must establish -that [he] has been deprived of a life, liberty, or property interest sufficient to trigger the protection of the Due Process Clause in the first place.” Ashki v. INS, 233 F.3d 913, 921 (6th Cir. 2000).

We have previously announced that an individual “has no constitutionally-protected liberty interest in obtaining discretionary relief from deportation.” Id.; see also Huicochea-Gomez, 237 F.3d at 700 (“The failure to be granted discretionary relief does not amount' to a deprivation of a liberty interest.”). In Ashki, the petitioner appealed the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of her motion to reopen her deportation proceedings so that she could apply for a discretionary grant of suspension of deportation. 233 F.3d at 916-17. She argued, in párt, that the Nicaraguan Adjustment .and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) denied her a fair removal hearing because it' exempted only certain nationalities from the ■“stop time” provision of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Id. at 919, 920-21. But given that the petitioner sought,- at bottom, a discretionary grant of suspension of deportation, id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Lexy Herrera-Pagoada
14 F.4th 311 (Fourth Circuit, 2021)
United States v. Pedro Silvestre-Gregorio
983 F.3d 848 (Sixth Circuit, 2020)
United States v. Vargas-Molina
392 F. Supp. 3d 809 (E.D. Michigan, 2019)
Mariusz Tomaszczuk v. Matthew Whitaker
909 F.3d 159 (Sixth Circuit, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
876 F.3d 885, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-emilio-estrada-ca6-2017.