Opinion ID: 768715
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Statutory & Guidelines Provisions Governing Reentering Aliens

Text: 101 As set out in Part I above, 8U.S.C. §1326 prohibits an alien's reentry into the United States without permission from the Attorney General if the alien was previously deported from the United States. Such reentry by a previously-deported-aggravated felon is punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment. See 8 U.S.C. §§1326(a) and(b)(2); Almendarez-Torres, 523 U.S. at 226. 102 Prior to 1988, §1326 provided that any alien who had been arrested and deported (or excluded and deported) and thereafter entered the United States without having obtained the requisite permission was to be punished by imprisonment of not more than two years, or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. 8U.S.C. §1326 (1982). At that time, the section drew no distinctions among returning aliens in terms of their criminal history. In 1987, several bills were introduced in Congress for the purpose of strengthen[ing] U.S. immigration law against illegal alien felons. 133 Cong. Rec. 8772 (Apr. 9, 1987) (Senate). Authors of the bills pointed out that in 1986, more than 100,000 illegal aliens had been arrested for criminal offenses, and that in Florida, New York, and California, the arrests of aliens accounted for a significant percentage of all arrests, especially in the area of narcotics trafficking. See id. at 8771-72; id. at 28840-41 (Oct. 22, 1987) (House of Representatives). For example, [i]n southern California, the GAO report[ed] that 12-16 percent of persons arrested were aliens, 25 percent of all thefts were alien suspects, and 50-80 percent of persons arrested selling crack cocaine were illegal aliens. Id. at 8771. The growing problem of felonious aliens, id. at 28841, was complicating and frustrating an already overburdened legal and penal system, id. at 8771. Among the proposals that were adopted were amendments to §1326 to increase from two years the maximum prison terms that could be imposed on illegally returning aliens who had previously been convicted of felonies and had been deported. 103 Accordingly, effective November 18, 1988, §1326 was amended by placing the then-existing provision in a subsection lettered (a) and making that subsection [s]ubject to subsection (b), 8U.S.C. §1326(a) (1988). Subsection (b) was added, substantially increasing the penalties for unlawfully reentering aliens who had been deported after having been convicted of a felony: such an alien whose predeportation conviction was for a felony other than an aggravated felony was subjected to imprisonment for up to five years, id. §1326(b)(1) (1988); and one whose predeportation conviction was for commission of an aggravated felony was subjected to imprisonment for up to 15 years, id. §1326(b)(2) (1988). In 1994, §1326(b)(2) was further amended to increase the maximum prison term for an alien whose predeportation conviction was for commission of an aggravated felony from 15 years to the current 20 years. See 8 U.S.C. §1326(b)(2) (1994). 104 The Guidelines currently set a base offense level of eight for a defendant convicted of violating §1326, see Guidelines §2L1.2(a), and further provide, in pertinent part, that 105 [i]f the defendant previously was deported after a criminal conviction, ... increase as follows ...: 106 (A) If the conviction was for an aggravated felony, increase by 16 levels, 107 id. §2L1.2(b)(1)(A). In the original version of the Guidelines, which became effective in November 1987, when §1326 still provided for no more than a two-year prison term, §2L1.2 provided simply that a defendant convicted of violating §1326 was to have a base offense level of six if he was a first offender, or eight if he was a repeat offender. Following Congress's 1988 enactment of §1326(b), increasing the pertinent maximum prison term from two to 15 years, the Guidelines were amended to require a four-step increase in offense level for a defendant who had previously been deported after having been convicted of a felony other than an immigration law violation. See Guidelines App. C, amend. 193 (Nov. 1, 1989) (amending Guidelines §2L1.2(b)). At that time, no guideline dealt expressly with a defendant whose deportation followed conviction of an aggravated felony. Instead, the 1989 amendments added an Application Note stating that [i]n the case of a defendant previously deported after sustaining a conviction for an aggravated felony ... , an upward departure may be warranted. Id.; Guidelines §2L1.2 Application Note 3 (1989). 108 Effective November 1, 1991, however, §2L1.2 and its commentary were amended again so as to provide dramatically increased punishment for a reentering previously-deported-aggravated felon, and to make that increase mandatory, rather than leaving it to the district court's departure discretion. That part of the prior Application Note 3 to §2L1.2 which had stated that this circumstance may warrant an upward departure was deleted, see Guidelines App. C, amend. 375 (Nov. 1, 1991) (amending Guidelines §2L1.2(b) & Application Note 3), and a new subsection (b)(2) was inserted that provided: 109 If the defendant previously was deported after a conviction for an aggravated felony, increase [his offense level] by 16 levels, 110 Guidelines §2L1.2(b)(2) (1991). The Commission explained that although [p]reviously, such cases were addressed by a recommendation for consideration of an upward departure, the standardized 16-step increase was now mandatory because [t]he Commission has determined that th[is] increased offense level[ is] appropriate to reflect the serious nature of th[is] offense[]. Guidelines App. C, amend. 375 (Nov. 1, 1991). Though the format of §2L1.2(b) has changed since 1991, the mandatory 16-step increase in offense level remains in effect.