Case: 18-50828 Document: 00515068424 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/08/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 18-50828 FILED August 8, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Clerk Plaintiff - Appellant v. CARLOS PEDROZA-ROCHA, Defendant - Appellee Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Before KING, ELROD, and ENGELHARDT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: The district court dismissed Carlos Pedroza-Rocha’s indictment for illegal reentry following removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, finding that the immigration judge in the underlying removal proceeding lacked jurisdiction. While this appeal was pending, this court issued an opinion in an analogous immigration appeal that forecloses the arguments advanced by Pedroza-Rocha that were adopted by the district court below. For that reason, we REVERSE and REMAND. I. Defendant–appellee Carlos Pedroza-Rocha, a citizen of Mexico without lawful status in the United States, entered the country on or about March 12, Case: 18-50828 Document: 00515068424 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/08/2019 No. 18-50828 2003. He was not admitted or paroled by an immigration officer. Shortly thereafter, Pedroza-Rocha pleaded guilty in Texas state court to the crime of burglary of a habitation and was sentenced to ten years of community supervision. Around the same time, the Government issued Pedroza-Rocha a notice to appear (“NTA”) for removal proceedings before an immigration judge (“IJ”). The NTA informed Pedroza-Rocha that he was present in the United States without lawful status and was therefore removable. It also specified the place where Pedroza-Rocha was to appear, but not the date and time, instead stating only that the date and time were “to be set.” Around two months later, the immigration court issued a notice of hearing to Pedroza-Rocha, which specified the date and time for Pedroza-Rocha’s hearing. At the hearing, the IJ ordered Pedroza-Rocha removed from the United States, and the resulting removal order (the “2003 Removal Order”) was entered on May 27, 2003. In 2009, Pedroza-Rocha was again discovered in the United States when he was arrested for drunk driving in El Paso, Texas. Shortly thereafter, Pedroza-Rocha pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally reentering the United States after removal in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison. Additionally, the state court revoked his term of community supervision for the 2003 burglary conviction, and it sentenced him to two years in prison on that charge. Following his release from state custody, the Government reinstated the 2003 Removal Order and removed Pedroza-Rocha to Mexico. In 2011 and again in 2015, Pedroza-Rocha unlawfully reentered the United States and was removed, again through reinstatement of the 2003 Removal Order. In May of 2017, after having been removed four times pursuant to the 2003 Removal Order, Pedroza-Rocha was arrested for assault in El Paso. A federal grand jury thereafter indicted Pedroza-Rocha for illegal reentry under § 1326. This case concerns that indictment. 2 Case: 18-50828 Document: 00515068424 Page: 3 Date Filed: 08/08/2019 No. ...
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