Immigration – Removal Order

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Eleazar Hernandez-Perdomo

Case No.: 19-1964; 19-2113

Officials: ROVNER, BRENNAN, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Immigration – Removal Order

Ismael Rangel-Rodriguez and Eleazar Hernandez-Perdomo are both Mexican citizens who have never been lawfully admitted to the United States. Several years ago, immigration authorities served both of them with Notices to Appear (“NTA”) for removal proceedings. These NTAs—like many—were defective because they did not list a date or time for an initial removal hearing. For different reasons, Rangel and Hernandez were not present at their respective removal hearings, and the immigration judges ordered them removed in absentia. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) eventually enforced these orders and removed both men to Mexico, but they each illegally returned to the United States and were indicted for illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Pereira v. Sessions, 138 S. Ct. 2105 (2018), they moved to dismiss their respective indictments by collaterally attacking their underlying removal orders under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d) based on the defective NTAs. The district courts denied their motions, and each defendant entered a conditional plea of guilty to the illegal reentry charge and reserved his right to appeal the denial of the motion to dismiss the indictment. We have consolidated the cases for decision.

We conclude that Rangel and Hernandez have failed to demonstrate that they satisfy any of the requirements set out in § 1326(d). We therefore affirm the judgments.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.