United States v. Sandoval-Cordero

342 F. Supp. 3d 722
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 29, 2018
DocketEP-18-CR-2370-KC
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 342 F. Supp. 3d 722 (United States v. Sandoval-Cordero) 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. Sandoval-Cordero, 342 F. Supp. 3d 722 (W.D. Tex. 2018).

Opinion

KATHLEEN CARDONE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On this day, the Court considered Defendant Gerardo Sandoval-Cordero's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment in the above-captioned case. ECF No. 39. Upon due consideration, the Court concludes that the Motion must be DENIED .

I. BACKGROUND

On August 15, 2018, the grand jury sitting in El Paso, Texas, returned a single-count Indictment charging Sandoval-Cordero with illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. ECF No. 10. The government alleges that Sandoval-Cordero is a noncitizen who was found in this country without permission on July 17, 2018, and that he had previously been removed from the United States on or about February 22, 2017. Id.

Prior to Sandoval-Cordero's 2017 removal, an officer employed by the Department of Homeland Security personally served Sandoval-Cordero with a document entitled "Notice to Appear" ("NTA") on December 6, 2016. Mot. Ex. B. The NTA ordered Sandoval-Cordero to appear before an immigration judge ("IJ") "to show why [he] should not be removed from the United States based on the charge(s) set *725forth [elsewhere in the NTA]." Id. However, the NTA did not provide Sandoval-Cordero with a date and time for the removal hearing. Instead, it simply stated he was to appear "on a date to be set at a time to be set." Id.

From the time Sandoval-Cordero received the NTA, he remained detained at the Johnson County Jail in Cleburne, Texas. ECF No. 43, Ex. D. On January 11, 2017, the immigration court in Dallas mailed him a document entitled "Notice of Hearing in Removal Proceedings" ("Notice of Hearing"), which provided information missing from the NTA: the removal hearing would take place on February 8, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. Id. When the date arrived, Sandoval-Cordero appeared before the IJ via video conference. Id. The IJ denied Sandoval-Cordero's application for relief from removal and ordered him removed to Mexico. Mot. Ex. C. After Sandoval-Cordero waived his right to appeal the IJ's decision, he was removed from this country on February 22, 2017. Id. Sometime after this removal, Sandoval-Cordero returned to the United States, was detained by immigration authorities, and now faces the current prosecution. ECF Nos. 1, 10.

II. DISCUSSION

Sandoval-Cordero moves to dismiss the Indictment, arguing that because the NTA did not indicate the date or time of his removal hearing the IJ lacked jurisdiction to order him removed in 2017. Mot. 2. Therefore, Sandoval-Cordero argues, his removal proceedings violated due process and the government cannot prove he was "removed" as a matter of law. Id. at 3-4. The government argues against dismissal, asserting that the IJ had jurisdiction to issue Sandoval-Cordero's removal and that, in any event, Sandoval-Cordero has not satisfied the requirements to collaterally attack his 2017 removal order. See generally Resp.

A noncitizen who has been removed from the United States commits a felony if he subsequently reenters the United States without permission. 8 U.S.C. § 1326. To convict under § 1326, the government must prove that the defendant has in fact been previously removed. United States v. Mendoza-Lopez , 481 U.S. 828, 835, 107 S.Ct. 2148, 95 L.Ed.2d 772 (1987). The government typically relies upon the removal order itself, issued by the immigration court, to satisfy this burden. Yet, in Mendoza-Lopez , the Supreme Court held that a defendant prosecuted under § 1326 must be able to challenge the government's use of a prior removal as an element of the offense where the removal proceeding "effectively eliminate[d] the right of the alien to obtain judicial review." Id. at 839, 107 S.Ct. 2148.1

Congress "effectively codified" this holding in 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d). United States v. Benitez-Villafuerte , 186 F.3d 651, 659 n.8 (5th Cir. 1999). To collaterally attack an underlying removal order, a defendant must show that:

(1) [he or she] 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 *726deprived [him or her] of the opportunity for judicial review; and
(3) The entry of the order was fundamentally unfair.

8 U.S.C. § 1326(d).

The defendant must satisfy all three requirements to lodge a successful collateral attack. United States v. Cordova-Soto ,

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Bluebook (online)
342 F. Supp. 3d 722, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sandoval-cordero-txwd-2018.