Opinion ID: 2808339
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Macias’s Immigration File

Text: Border Patrol Agent Kara Reale testified with respect to the contents of Macias’s immigration file. Macias had been deported to Mexico many times prior to this trial. Macias was first deported to Mexico in 1981, at the age of 21. During those proceedings, Macias requested to be returned to Mexico, stating that he was a citizen of Mexico. In 1988 and 1989, Macias was again deported to Mexico based on his admissions during deportation proceedings. An audio recording of the 1988 hearing was played for the jury. In 1992, during a deportation hearing, he initially claimed he was a citizen of Mexico and not the United States, 1 The record shows that the government had the fingerprints on this birth certificate tested but the results were inconclusive. UNITED STATES V. MACIAS 9 asserting that his father had told him he was born in Mexico. However, he also stated that his mother’s friend had told him he was born in Riverside. The immigration judge offered him an opportunity to present evidence, and Macias responded that he “will fix that when [he] arrive[s] in Mexico.” The judge then ordered Macias to be deported to Mexico. An audio recording of this hearing was played for the jury. In 1994, during a deportation hearing, Macias was asked if he was a citizen of the United States and he responded negatively. He responded affirmatively when asked whether he was a native and citizen of Mexico. An audio recording of this hearing was played for the jury. In July of 1998, Macias was once again deported to Mexico, after stating that he was born in Mexico. Macias’s immigration file also contained statements during deportation proceedings in 1997, 1998, and 2004, in which Macias admitted that he was born in Mexico and was a citizen of Mexico. Additionally, the government admitted warrants of removal demonstrating that Macias had been removed from the United States to Mexico in July 1998, November 2001, and September 2004. In November 2004, two months after the last removal proceedings, Macias told an immigration judge that he was a citizen of the United States. When the immigration judge asked him about his extensive deportation history, Macias responded that he had been lying about being born in Mexico. Macias told the judge that he did not discover that he was born in the United States until he was about 18 years old. The judge ordered Macias to be deported. Subsequently, in February 2011, during deportation proceedings, Macias was deported after admitting he was born in Mexico. 10 UNITED STATES V. MACIAS