United States v. Veliz

Opinion

Case: 25-40503 Document: 61-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/14/2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals ____________ Fifth Circuit

FILED

No. 25-40503 August 14, 2026 Summary Calendar

Lyle W. Cayce

____________ Clerk

United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Salma Galilea Veliz,

Defendant—Appellant.

______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 5:24-CR-1526-1

______________________________

Before Haynes, Graves, and Ramirez, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* A jury convicted Salma Galilea Veliz of conspiracy to transport an alien within the United States for financial gain, transporting an alien within the United States for financial gain, and bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain. On appeal, Veliz argues that the district court erred when it improperly limited defense counsel’s cross-examination of a witness (the

*

This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.

Case: 25-40503 Document: 61-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/14/2026

No. 25-40503

smuggled alien’s mother) and failed to give the jury a cautionary instruction about accomplice testimony.

Veliz has not shown any abuse of discretion in the limitation on cross-

examination. See United States v. Davis, 393 F.3d 540, 548 (5th Cir. 2004). As for the jury instruction, there was no evidence implicating the mother in the scheme to smuggle her son into the United States, so the district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to give a cautionary jury instruction on the weight of accomplice testimony. See United States v. Peterson, 977 F.3d 381, 390 (5th Cir. 2020). But even if it abused its discretion, Veliz has not shown the requisite influence on the jury’s verdict. See United States v. Bernal, 814 F.2d 175, 184 (5th Cir. 1987).

AFFIRMED.