United States v. Lopez-Urgel

351 F. Supp. 3d 978
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 14, 2018
Docket1:18-CR-310-RP
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 351 F. Supp. 3d 978 (United States v. Lopez-Urgel) 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. Lopez-Urgel, 351 F. Supp. 3d 978 (W.D. Tex. 2018).

Opinion

ROBERT PITMAN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendant Sobec Lopez-Urgel's ("Lopez") motion to dismiss the pending indictment. (Dkt. 16). Having considered the parties' briefs, the evidence, and the relevant law, the Court enters the following order.

I. BACKGROUND

Lopez has been indicted with a single count of illegal reentry into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). (Dkt. 10). Specifically, the Government alleges that Lopez is an alien who was found in the Travis County Jail on March 15, 2018, and that Lopez was previously removed from the United States to Mexico on or about December 14, 2017. (See Compl., Dkt. 1).

Lopez is a citizen of Mexico. (Gov't. Resp., Dkt. 22, at 3). Immigration authorities first found him on July 20, 2009, and served him with a notice to appear ("NTA") at a removal hearing. (See NTA, Dkt. 16-1). The NTA did not contain a date or time. (Id. at 1). Lopez was held in custody until the hearing, where he appeared and participated. (Gov't. Resp., Dkt. 22, n.2; Order, Dkt. 16-2). At the hearing, Lopez was ordered removed; he waived appeal. (Gov't. Resp., Dkt. 22, at 3; Order, Dkt. 16-2). This removal order has since been reinstated twice: once in October 2013 and again in December 2017. (Mot. Dismiss, Dkt. 16, at 2). It is this removal order that forms the basis of Lopez's indictment for illegal reentry.

Lopez now seeks to collaterally challenge his removal order. Relying on the Supreme Court's recent decision in Pereira v. Sessions , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 2105, 201 L.Ed.2d 433 (2018), Lopez argues that his pending indictment for illegal reentry must be dismissed because his sole prior removal order was invalid. (Mot. Dismiss, Dkt. 16, at 2). Specifically, he contends that because he received a Notice to Appear that did not indicate the removal hearing's date and time as required by *984statute, that notice was invalid and the immigration judge who ordered his removal had no jurisdiction to do so. (Id. ). The Government filed a response. (Dkt. 16). Both parties have also filed supplemental briefing. (Dkt. 25, 26, 28, 29).

II. DISCUSSION

A defendant charged with illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 has a due process right to challenge the removal order upon which the charge is predicated in the criminal proceeding before the district court. United States v. Mendoza-Lopez , 481 U.S. 828, 837-38, 107 S.Ct. 2148, 95 L.Ed.2d 772 (1987). After Mendoza-Lopez , the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that to collaterally attack a prior removal order in a criminal proceeding, the alien must demonstrate that: "(1) the removal hearing was fundamentally unfair; (2) the hearing effectively eliminated the right of the alien to challenge the hearing by means of judicial review of the order; and (3) the procedural deficiencies caused the alien actual prejudice." United States v. Lopez-Ortiz , 313 F.3d 225, 229 (5th Cir. 2002).

The Fifth Circuit regards this test as "effectively codified" in 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d). United States v. Lopez-Vasquez , 227 F.3d 476, 483 n.13 (5th Cir. 2000). Section 1326(d) provides that an alien may not challenge the validity of a removal order unless the alien establishes that: "(1) the alien exhausted any administrative remedies that may have been available to seek relief against the order; (2) the deportation proceeding at which the order was issued improperly deprived the alien of the opportunity for judicial review; and (3) the entry of the order was fundamentally unfair." 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d). To successfully challenge a removal order, the alien must prove all three prongs. United States v. Cordova-Soto , 804 F.3d 714, 719 (5th Cir. 2015). "If the alien fails to establish one prong of the three part test, the Court need not consider the others." Id. (quoting United States v. Mendoza-Mata , 322 F.3d 829, 832 (5th Cir. 2003) ). The Fifth Circuit has also required a showing of prejudice. Id. at 719.1 To show prejudice, the alien must show that " 'there was a reasonable likelihood that but for the errors complained of the defendant would not have been deported.' " Id. (quoting *985United States v. Benitez-Villafuerte , 186 F.3d 651, 658-59 (5th Cir. 1999) ). The Government argues that Lopez fails to establish all three prongs and has failed to demonstrate prejudice. (Resp. Mot. Dismiss, Dkt. 16). The Court addresses each requirement of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d), and the question of prejudice, in turn.

A. Fundamental Fairness

To collaterally attack a prior removal order in a criminal proceeding, a noncitizen must show that "the removal hearing was fundamentally unfair."

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351 F. Supp. 3d 978, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lopez-urgel-txwd-2018.