FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit PUBLISH June 17, 2019 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court TENTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. No. 18-6130 JOSE LUIS ELISEO ARIAS- QUIJADA, a/k/a/ Jose Mendoza, Defendant - Appellant. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA (D.C. NO. 5:17-CR-00263-M-1) Submitted on the briefs: * William P. Earley, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Defendant-Appellant. Robert J. Troester, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, and William E. Farrior, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff-Appellee. Before HARTZ, MURPHY, and CARSON, Circuit Judges. * After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. MURPHY, Circuit Judge. I. Introduction Defendant-Appellant Jose Luis Eliseo Arias-Quijada entered a conditional guilty plea to illegal reentry into the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He reserved the right to appeal the district court’s denial of his Motion to Assert a Defense of Duress. In this appeal, Arias-Quijada challenges the denial of his motion, arguing he presented sufficient evidence to create a triable issue on the affirmative defense of duress. He specifically contests the district court’s conclusion that he failed to make a bona fide effort to surrender to immigration authorities once the alleged duress lost its coercive force. See United States v. Portillo-Vega, 478 F.3d 1194, 1201 (10th Cir. 2007). Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms the district court’s order denying Arias-Quijada’s motion. II. Background Arias-Quijada is a citizen of El Salvador. He was removed from the United States by order of an immigration judge in 2005 and again in 2014. In late 2017, Arias-Quijada was taken into custody by immigration officers in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A search of government records revealed he had not received permission to reenter the United States. -2- Arias-Quijada sought a pretrial ruling on the admissibility of evidence to substantiate his assertion he illegally reentered the United States only because of duress. Arias-Quijada proffered facts and supporting documents detailing his interactions with the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang and the 18th Street (Barrio 18) gang in El Salvador during his adolescent years. He alleged both gangs attempted to recruit him and he was tortured by the Barrio 18 gang when he was fifteen years old. Arias-Quijada also proffered details about a serious assault perpetrated on him by MS-13 gang members after he was removed to El Salvador in 2014. In its response to Arias-Quijada’s pretrial motion, the government argued he could not meet his burden of proving a defense of duress. It asserted Arias-Quijada was notified of his rights regarding fear of persecution when he was removed in 2005 and it proffered evidence showing he was informed of the process for requesting and obtaining permission to ...
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