United States v. Jose Cortes-Pacheco

336 F. App'x 932

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Decided: July 14, 2009
• Docket: 09-10757
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Jose Cortes-Pacheco appeals his sentence to 20 months of imprisonment following his plea of guilty to reentering the United States illegally after three previous deportations. Cortes-Pacheco argues that his sentence is unreasonable. We affirm.

The district court did not abuse its discretion by imposing a sentence above the guideline range. The district court correctly calculated the advisory guideline range of zero to six months of imprisonment and found that a sentence within that range would be “ineffective” based on Cortes-Pacheco’s “repeated and apparently inexcusable repetitive reentries into this country[.]” The district court considered the sentencing factors and found that a variance above the guideline range was necessary to address Cortes-Pacheco’s recidivism and deter him and “those similarly situated that this sort of repetitious and reckless behavior and defiance of established law [was] unacceptable.” The statutory maximum sentence of imprisonment for illegal reentry is two years. 8 U.S.C. § 1826(a). Cortes-Pacheco’s sentence of 20 months of imprisonment is reasonable.

Cortes-Pacheco’s sentence is AFFIRMED.