Opinion ID: 170226
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of Illegal Status

Text: Next, Mendez argues the government failed to prove that he was an alien in the United States illegally. This finding was an essential element of Counts 8, 9 and 10, which charged the defendant with being an alien unlawfully in the United States in possession of a firearm or ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A). An alien is defined as any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(3). The government may prove an alien was unlawfully in the United States by showing he was in this country without authorization. See United States v. Atandi, 376 F.3d 1186, 1189 (10th Cir. 2004). Mendez argues the government failed to meet its burden of proving he was an alien. He contends the only evidence upon which the jury could rely was his admission that he was born in Mexico. The government, however, also introduced evidence that Mendez provided officers with a false social security number after his arrest and that it had no evidence of a valid authorization to lawfully enter the country. This evidence, when considered with the evidence that Mendez was born in Mexico, could lead a reasonable jury to conclude that Mendez was not lawfully present in the United States. The district court did not err and the evidence was sufficient to support Mendez's conviction.