Court Opinion

ID: 9495270
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 15:58:22.36+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:56:54.754019
License: Public Domain

GRABER, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the majority opinion. I write separately only to respond to an implication in the dissent that evidence of an immigration violation could be suppressed if reasonable suspicion for the stop were lacking.
One’s identity is not a fact that can be suppressed. United States v. Guzman-Bruno, 27 F.3d 420, 421-22 (9th Cir.1994). Because the stop of Defendant led directly to no criminal charge, but only to processing for deportation, his identity as a non-citizen turned out to be the only operative fact uncovered during the stop. Thus, the border patrol agent correctly understood the legal effect of a lack of reasonable suspicion; he discovered nothing during the stop that could be suppressed. See id. (affirming conviction for being a deported alien found within the United States, notwithstanding an illegal arrest).