Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-03-20707/USCOURTS-ca5-03-20707-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Raul Garcia-Lopez
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined

that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent

except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.

R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

F I L E D

February 18, 2004

Charles R. Fulbruge III

Clerk

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

 

No. 03-20707

Conference Calendar

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

RAUL GARCIA-LOPEZ,

Defendant-Appellant.

--------------------

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Texas

USDC No. H-02-CR-134-1

--------------------

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, EMILIO M. GARZA, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Raul Garcia-Lopez appeals the amended judgment resentencing

him for illegal re-entry of a deported alien, in violation of 8

U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(1).

The sole issue that Garcia-Lopez raises is that the

deportation order underlying his 8 U.S.C. § 1326 conviction was

obtained in violation of his due process rights and that the

district court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the

indictment on that basis. According to Garcia-Lopez, his removal

 Case: 03-20707 Document: 0051374967 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/18/2004
No. 03-20707

-2-

proceeding was fundamentally unfair because the immigration judge

did not inform him of his eligibility to apply for discretionary

relief from deportation. In United States v. Lopez-Ortiz, 313

F.3d 225, 231 (5th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1135

(2003), this court held that an immigration judge’s failure to

inform an alien of his eligibility for discretionary relief from

deportation does not rise to the level of fundamental unfairness

necessary to successfully challenge a deportation order. As we

held in a prior order issued in this case, Garcia-Lopez’s

argument that his deportation order cannot be used to support his

conviction under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 is foreclosed by our holding in

Lopez-Ortiz.

The judgment of the district court is therefore AFFIRMED.

 Case: 03-20707 Document: 0051374967 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/18/2004