Mexican citizen Francisco Romero-Caspeta certainly did nothing to make things better for himself by crossing the border not once, but twice, illegally.
Romero-Caspeta first attempted to cross the border from Mexico into Texas in 1999. Using a border pass belonging to another person, he was apprehended. Romero-Caspeta was given a suspended sentence of 90 days followed by 2 years of supervised release for violating federal law. He was returned to Mexico and the Order of Removal specifically stated that Romero-Caspeta could not come back to the U.S. for at least five years; even then he would need permission from the Attorney General before crossing the border.
Convicted on other offenses
Fast forward to 2012 where Romero-Caspeta was convicted of a traffic offense in Detroit, Michigan. U.S. ICE agents detained him and he was charged with unlawful reentry. At trial, Romero-Caspeta did not dispute that he was in the U.S. illegally but still argued that he was not required by law to get the specific permission of the Attorney General. The defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal, which was denied by the court, and the jury returned a guilty verdict for illegal Reentry of a Removed Alien under 8 U.S.C. 1326(a).
Romero-Caspeta then took his conviction up to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. This court agreed with other U.S. circuit courts, ruling that the express consent of the Attorney General is required. Only with that permission could there be a defense to prosecution for being in the U.S. illegally. The court also pointed out that the defendant wasn’t contesting that he was in the country illegally. Therefore, as a matter of law, there really was no defense. The U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals found the appeal to be without merit, upholding the conviction and the judgment of the lower court.
The trial lawyers at The Kronzek Firm PLC, have extensive experience handling a wide variety of criminal matters and criminal appeals.