United States Court of Appeals 

For the Seventh Circuit 

Chicago, Illinois 60604 

Submitted March 20, 2019 

Decided March 20, 2019 

Before 

DIANE P. WOOD, Chief Judge 

FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge 

AMY C. BARRETT, Circuit Judge

No. 18-2202 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

v. 

MIGUEL BARRERA-SOBERANIS, 

 Defendant-Appellant.

 Appeal from the United States District 

Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 

Eastern Division. 

No. 17 CR 72-1 

Virginia M. Kendall, 

Judge. 

O R D E R 

After his removal to Mexico in 2014, Miguel Barrera-Soberanis returned to the 

United States and was arrested in 2016 in Lake County, Illinois. He pleaded guilty to 

unlawfully reentering the country. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326. The district court sentenced him 

to 48 months’ imprisonment—below the Guidelines range of 57 to 71 months—and he 

now appeals that sentence. His appointed lawyer, however, moves to withdraw from 

the appeal, arguing that it is frivolous. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967). 

Barrera-Soberanis has not responded to counsel’s motion. See CIR. R. 51(b). Because 

counsel’s supporting brief explains the nature of the case and addresses issues that an 

appeal of this kind might be expected to involve, we limit our review to the subjects she 

NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION 

To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 

NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION 

To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 
No. 18-2202 Page 2 

discusses. See United States v. Bey, 748 F.3d 774, 776 (7th Cir. 2014); United States v. 

Wagner, 103 F.3d 551, 553 (7th Cir. 1996). 

Counsel first informs us that Barrera-Soberanis told her that he does not wish to 

withdraw his guilty plea; counsel therefore properly does not discuss the voluntariness 

of the plea or the adequacy of Barrera-Soberanis’s plea colloquy. See FED. R. CRIM. P. 11; 

United States v. Konczak, 683 F.3d 348, 349 (7th Cir. 2012); United States v. Knox, 287 F.3d 

667, 670–71 (7th Cir. 2002). 

Barrera-Soberanis does wish to contest the length of his sentence and the 

calculation of his Guidelines range, so counsel explores both potential challenges. She 

begins with the Guidelines calculation and correctly concludes that Barrera-Soberanis 

has no worthwhile argument. The judge correctly ruled that Barrera-Soberanis had a 

base offense level of eight and that he qualified for two eight-level enhancements for 

felony convictions before and after his removal in 2014. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(a), (b)(2)(B), 

(b)(3)(B). The judge also properly reduced his offense level three points for acceptance 

of responsibility, yielding a total offense level of 21. See id. § 3E1.1. His criminal history, 

which consists of felony trespass to a residence, unlawful possession of a firearm, and 

unlawful possession of marijuana, led to a score of seven, see id. § 4A1.1, and a 

criminal-history category of IV, see id. ch. 5 pt. A. The district court rightly concluded 

that these numbers generate a sentencing range of 57 to 71 months. Id. 

Finally, counsel considers whether Barrera-Soberanis could challenge the 

reasonableness of his sentence and properly concludes that such a challenge would also 

be pointless. Barrera-Soberanis’s 48-month sentence is below the low end of his 

calculated Guidelines range. We would presume that Barrera-Soberanis’s sentence is 

reasonable because it is below the range, see United States v. Purham, 795 F.3d 761, 765 

(7th Cir. 2015), and we agree with counsel that the record presents no basis to disturb 

the presumption. The district judge adequately weighed the relevant factors in 18 U.S.C. 

§ 3553(a), including the arguably mitigating factor of violence in Mexico, the serious 

nature of returning unlawfully to the United States after removal for committing a 

felony, and the need to deter Barrera-Soberanis and others from unlawfully doing the 

same. See United States v. Nania, 724 F.3d 824, 838–39 (7th Cir. 2013). 

Accordingly, we GRANT the motion to withdraw and DISMISS the appeal.