United States v. Rufino Peralta-Sanchez

705 F. App'x 542
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided August 22, 2017·No. 14-50393, 14-50394·Unpublished·Cited by 3 cases

Opinions

MEMORANDUM *

Rufino Peralta-Sanchez was convicted of illegal entry in violation of 8 U.S.C. [544] § 1325 and illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. The predicate for his illegal reentry count was his 8 U.S.C. § 1225 expedited removal in 2012. Peralta-San-chez argues that his expedited removal proceedings (“the proceedings”) were fundamentally unfair, and thus cannot serve as the basis of the illegal reentry count, because he was neither allowed to hire counsel nor advised of his right to apply for withdrawal of his application for admission. We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. Because the revocation of his supervised release condition was premised on the § 1326 conviction, we affirm the district court’s revocation of this condition as well.

To succeed in this appeal of the § 1326 criminal conviction, Peralta-Sanchez must demonstrate that the 2012 removal order was “fundamentally unfair.” 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d). To do this, he must show that the proceedings violated his due process rights and that he suffered prejudice as a result of that violation. United States v. Raya-Vaca, 771 F.3d 1195, 1202 (9th Cir. 2014). We will assume for purposes of this case only that Peralta-Sanchez had a due process right to retain counsel at his own expense and to be advised by the government of the right to seek withdrawal of admission under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(4) during the proceedings, and thus that his due process rights were violated, leaving the question whether Peralta-Sanchez proved that he was prejudiced by these violations.

“An alien seeking to prove prejudice need not establish that he definitely would have received immigration relief, but only that he had ‘plausible grounds’ for receiving such relief.” United States v. Barajas-Alvarado, 655 F.3d 1077, 1089 (9th Cir. 2011) (citation omitted). “[Establishing ‘plausibility’ requix-es more than establishing a mere ‘possibility.’” Id. When the form of relief claimed is discretionary, “the alien must ‘make a “plausible” showing that the facts presented would cause the Attorney General to exercise discretion in his favor.’ ” Id. (citation omitted). “[I]n light of the factors relevant to the form of relief being sought, and based on the ‘unique circumstances of [the alien’s] own case,’ it [must be] plausible (not merely conceivable)” that relief would have been granted. Id. (citation omitted) (second alteration in original), Peralta-Sanchez fails to carry this burden as to both violations.

Peralta-Sanchez’s claim of prejudice from failing to have the right to hire counsel falters at its first hurdle. Peralta-Sanchez points to nothing in the record to indicate that he actually would have hired an attorney had he had the right to do so. See id. (noting that it “assum[ed] that [the alien] could establish that he would have” exercised, for prejudice-analysis purposes, the due process right he claimed to have).

Indeed, the facts in the record lead to the opposite conclusion. Peralta-Sanchez was often arrested and deported, and he would illegally reenter the United States shortly thereafter. What is more, though, are the circumstances temporally surrounding the proceedings. The apprehension that led to the proceedings occurred three days after he had last been removed. He was then removed again and apprehended in the United States four days later. After being removed again, Peralta-Sanchez illegally reentered the very next, day. Peralta-Sanchez’s contention that he would have hired a lawyer, prolonged his detention, and risked another prison sentence rather than just take the expedited removal that allowed him to try again the next day is simply implausible.

Even if we assume that Peralta-Sanchez would have hired an attorney, his three claims of prejudice based on what his attorney might have done fail.

[545]*5451. Peralta-Sanchez first claims that an attorney could have convinced the Border Patrol agent conducting an interview aimed at established baseline facts to exercise her discretion to transform the expedited removal proceedings into a full-fledged hearing before an immigration judge, who in turn could have exercised his discretion either to rescind the 1999 removal or to offer nunc pro tunc relief. Peralta-Sanchez has not shown either of these two steps to be plausible.

Peralta-Sanchez’s attorney would first need to convince the Border Patrol officer interviewing Peralta-Sanchez in § 1225 removal proceedings to interpret the phrase, “the officer shall order the alien removed from the United States without further hearing or review,” 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(l)(A)(i), to allow the officer to exercise her discretion to order the alien into a full hearing before an immigration judge. See also 8 C.F.R. § 235.3(b)(2)(ii). Nothing indicates that officers do that, or that their procedures authorize them to do so. Even if the officer were inclined to think she had this authority, Peralta-San-chez has not demonstrated that she would plausibly exercise it. Peralta-Sanchez’s litany of reentries, his substantial criminal record—including arrests for arson and fake identification, several felony or misdemeanor DUIs, and a felony conviction for a possession of cocaine—significantly cuts against finding an exercise of discretion plausible.

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

United States v. Rufino Peralta-Sanchez, 705 F. App'x 542 (9th Cir. 2017).

705 F. App'x 542 (United States v. Rufino Peralta-Sanchez) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. Rosendo Valdivias-Soto
112 F.4th 713 (Ninth Circuit, 2024)
C.J.L.G., a Juvenile Male v. Jefferson Sessions
880 F.3d 1122 (Ninth Circuit, 2018)