Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Henry JIMENEZ-VARGAS, also known as Nelson Hernandez, also known as Anthony Delgado, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2003-10-22
Citations: 78 F. App'x 404
Docket Number: No. 03-20200
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Henry JIMENEZ-VARGAS, also known as Nelson Hernandez, also known as Anthony Delgado, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before KING, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 78
Pages: 404–405

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Henry JIMENEZ-VARGAS, also known as Nelson Hernandez, also known as Anthony Delgado, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 03-20200.
Conference Calendar
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Oct. 22, 2003.
James Lee Turner, Assistant US Attorney, Houston, TX, Mark Michael Dowd, Brownsville, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Timothy William Crooks, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Roland E. Dahlin, II, Federal Public Defender, Omar F Guerra Johansson, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before KING, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and STEWART, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Henry Jimenez-Vargas appeals his guilty-plea conviction of and sentence for illegal reentry following deportation. Jimenez-Vargas argues pursuant to Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), that the "felony" and "aggravated felony" provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(1) and (2) are elements of the offense, not sentence enhancements, making those provisions unconstitutional. Jimenez-Vargas concedes that this argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998), and he raises it "for possible direct review by the Supreme Court and to avoid later accusations of procedural default should the law change on this question."
Jimenez-Vargas's Apprendi argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres, 523 U.S. at 235. We must follow the precedent set in Almendarez-Torres "unless and until the Supreme Court itself determines to overrule it." United States v. Dabeit, 231 F.3d 979, 984 (5th Cir.2000) (internal quotation and citation omitted).
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Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.