Case: 18-40441 Document: 00515069382 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/08/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 18-40441 United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED August 8, 2019 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Lyle W. Cayce Plaintiff - Appellee Clerk v. MIGUEL ANGEL VEGA-TORRES, Defendant - Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 2:17-CR-355-1 Before HAYNES, GRAVES, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Miguel Angel Vega-Torres moved to suppress evidence discovered during an immigration inspection. The district court denied the motion, and Vega- Torres now challenges the district court’s order. Vega-Torres argues that the district court reversibly erred in denying his motion because: (1) the agent at the immigration checkpoint stop exceeded the limited citizenship purpose of the stop and unconstitutionally prolonged his detention in violation of the * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Case: 18-40441 Document: 00515069382 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/08/2019 No. 18-40441 Fourth Amendment, and (2) Vega-Torres’s subsequent consent to search was not sufficiently attenuated from the constitutional violation. We disagree. I. On May 26, 2017, Vega-Torres was a passenger on a commercial bus stopped at a border patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas. Border Patrol Agent David Gonzalez boarded the bus to conduct an immigration inspection. Normally, according to Agent Gonzalez’s testimony at the suppression hearing, an immigration inspection takes 90 seconds for each passenger. However, Agent Gonzalez’s inspection of Vega-Torres took three to five minutes. Agent Gonzalez asked Vega-Torres for his citizenship documentation. Vega-Torres, who was using his cell phone, handed Agent Gonzalez his Legal Permanent Resident (“LPR”) card and then continued to use his cell phone. Agent Gonzalez believed the LPR card was valid, but he had a difficult time matching Vega-Torres’s face with the LPR card photo because Vega-Torres only made brief eye contact between looking at Agent Gonzalez to answer questions and using his cell phone. So, Agent Gonzalez, while holding the card, extended his interview and asked Vega-Torres several questions to get Vega- Torres to sustain eye contact with him. Agent Gonzalez asked Vega-Torres a series of questions because after each response, Vega-Torres would immediately return to looking at his phone. Agent Gonzalez asked Vega-Torres where he was from, and Vega-Torres replied Brownsville, Texas. He asked him where he was heading, and Vega- Torres replied San Antonio. He asked him what his purpose was for going to San Antonio, and Vega-Torres replied that he was visiting family. When Agent Gonzalez asked him what part of San Antonio he was heading to, he replied San Antonio. Based on Agent Gonzalez’s experience, people who are attempting to illegally enter the country or smuggle drugs have been coached to give certain answers, but they are unable to answer all the agent’s questions. 2 Case: 18-40441 Document: 00515069382 Page: 3 Date Filed: 08/08/2019 No. 18-40441 ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals