Opinion ID: 5197
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Departure for Large Number of Aliens.

Text: Lara additionally objects to the departure based upon the large number of aliens involved.9 The six aliens discovered at the 8 For this reason, we need not address whether Lara's involvement with the firearm rose to the level of constructive possession. See United States v. Mueller, 902 F.2d 336 (5th Cir. 1990). Rather, we rest our conclusion on the fact that each of Lara's counts of conviction included an aiding and abetting component. As an aider and abettor of Ramos-Flores's actions in furtherance of the commission of the offense, Lara is punishable as a principal. 18 U.S.C. § 2. See also United States v. Barragan, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 9492 (9th Cir. Apr. 22, 1992) (unpublished) (attributing relevant offense conduct of one defendant to co-defendant under aider and abettor theory). 9 Although the district court merely cited the large number of aliens involved as one possible ground justifying departure, and there is no showing that it was a determinative factor in the sentencing, we must nonetheless reach the issue under Williams as, absent a subsequent showing of harmless error, remand is required when a sentencing court relies upon an invalid factor in departing. See Williams, 112 S. Ct. at 1120-21. 13 time of her arrest, she claims, are not a large number. Lara overlooks, however, the district court's finding, set out in the PSI, that Lara and Ramos-Flores together had transported at least forty aliens from November 1989 to March 7, 1990. Lara did not object to this finding. Indeed, her sworn admissions may have been sufficient, standing alone, to lead the district court to conclude that hers was an expansive smuggling operation. Section 2L1.1, application note 8, plainly states that [t]he Commission has not considered offenses involving large numbers of aliens . . . . An upward departure should be considered in those circumstances. See also United States v. Velasquez-Mercado, 872 F.2d 632 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 866 (1989); United States v. Salazar-Villarreal, 872 F.2d 121 (5th Cir. 1989) (approving upward departures premised in part on the number of aliens transported). Circuit precedent is even plainer. In United States v. Lopez-Escobar, 884 F.2d 170, 173 (5th Cir. 1989), we upheld a departure 2½ times greater than the guideline maximum based solely on the fact that the defendant's crime involved thirty-five aliens, an unusually large number of persons. Id. at 171 (emphasis added). Accord United States v. Hernandez, 943 F.2d 1, 3 (5th Cir. 1991) (twenty-one aliens a large number). Lara's contention on this point is without merit.