United States v. Esparza-Aguilar , 97 F. App'x 895 ( 2004 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
MAY 25 2004
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 03-4017
v. D. of Utah
SAMUEL ESPARZA-AGUILAR, (D.C. No. 02-CR-41-1-TC)
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before KELLY , HENRY , and TYMKOVICH , Circuit Judges. **
Defendant-Appellant Samuel Esparza-Aguilar appeals his conviction for
illegal reentry of a deported alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He argues that
the district court erred in 1) imposing criminal liability notwithstanding alleged
*
This order is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of
the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the
citation of orders; nevertheless, an order may be cited under the terms and
conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
**
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this three-judge
panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not be of material
assistance in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th
Cir. R. 34.1(G). The cause is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
defects in the original deportation proceeding, and 2) refusing to depart from the
applicable sentencing guidelines. We affirm.
Background
Samuel Esparza-Aguilar, a Mexican alien, entered the United States in 1986
and became a lawful permanent resident four years later. In 1998, he was
convicted in Utah state court for distribution of a controlled substance. A few
weeks later, he received a notice to appear at a removal hearing before an
immigration judge. This notice incorrectly stated that he had not been admitted to
the United States, but correctly stated that, having been convicted of an
aggravated felony, he was subject to removal. At the hearing, Esparza-Aguilar
admitted the allegations requiring his removal, and was deported on April 4,
1998. He did not appeal the removal order.
After being apprehended by Utah police on June 10, 2002, Esparza-Aguilar
was charged and convicted of reentering the United States as a previously
removed alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326.
Collateral Attack of the 1998 Removal Proceedings
In a criminal proceeding under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, an alien “may not
challenge the validity of [his] deportation order . . . unless [he] demonstrates that
. . . (1) [he had] exhausted any administrative remedies that may have been
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available to seek relief against the order; (2) the deportation proceedings at which
the order was issued improperly deprived [him] of the opportunity for judicial
review; and (3) the entry of the order was fundamentally unfair.” 8 U.S.C. §
1326(d). We review de novo a due process challenge to the underlying removal
proceedings. United States v. Rangel DeAguilar , 308 F.3d 1134, 1137 (10th Cir.
2002).
The record shows that Esparza-Aguilar not only failed to exhaust his
administrative remedies by not contesting his removal, but waived his right to
appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Vol. I Doc. 32 at 4-5. He therefore
failed to meet at least one of the requirements for collateral attack of an
underlying deportation order, and cannot escape criminal liability on that basis.
Sentencing Guidelines Departure
We have “jurisdiction to review a sentencing court’s refusal to depart from
the sentencing guidelines [only] in the very rare circumstance that the district
court states that it does not have any authority to depart from the sentencing
guideline range for the entire class of circumstances proffered by the defendant.”
United States v. Castillo , 140 F.3d 874, 887 (10th Cir. 1998). In this case, while
the district court refused to exercise its authority to depart from the Guidelines, at
no point did it deny that it had the authority to do so. Vol. II at 8 (Attachment 8).
Therefore, we do not have jurisdiction to review the district court’s decision.
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For the foregoing reasons, the decision of the district court is AFFIRMED.
Entered for the Court
Timothy M. Tymkovich
Circuit Judge
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