Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Benjamin RODRIGUEZ-RODRIGUEZ, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2008-06-19
Citations: 282 F. App'x 348
Docket Number: No. 07-40601
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Benjamin RODRIGUEZ-RODRIGUEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before JONES, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 282
Pages: 348–349

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Benjamin RODRIGUEZ-RODRIGUEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 07-40601
Conference Calendar.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
June 19, 2008.
James Lee Turner, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX, for PlaintiffAppellee.
Marjorie A. Meyers, Federal Public Defender, Federal Public Defender’s Office Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before JONES, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
Benjamin Rodriguez-Rodriguez (Rodriguez) appeals his conviction and sentence for illegal reentry. He argues that the district court erred in enhancing his sentence pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(i) based on a finding that his Texas conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver was a "drug trafficking offense." Rodriguez correctly concedes that his Guidelines argument is foreclosed by United States v. Ford, 509 F.3d 714, 717 (5th Cir.2007), and he raises it solely to preserve its further review.
In light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), Rodriguez also challenges the constitutionality of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)'s treatment of prior felony and aggravated felony convictions as sentencing factors rather than elements of the offense that must be found by a jury. This argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 235, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998). United States v. Pineda-Arrellano, 492 F.3d 624, 625 (5th Cir.2007), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 128 S.Ct. 872, 169 L.Ed.2d 737 (2008).
AFFIRMED.
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.