Description: Las Cruces, New Mexico criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with illegal re-entry after removal.

Mr. Vazquez-Garcia is a 42-year-old Mexican citizen. He was first removed from the United States on December 21, 2022, after being released from incarceration for a 2018 child-abuse offense. In November 2023, Border Patrol agents near Lordsburg, New Mexico located Mr. Vazquez-Garcia walking with several other individuals. Upon being questioned, Mr. Vazquez-Garcia admitted that he was a citizen of Mexico and that he reentered the United States without authorization. Consequently, Mr. Vazquez-Garcia was detained and charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico with illegal reentry as a felon under 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He pleaded guilty to the offense.

At the sentencing hearing, the district court asked Mr. Vazquez numerous questions about a prior child-abuse conviction, relying on factual allegations in the presentence report (“PSR”) about the underlying conduct for that conviction. After the district court finished questioning Mr. Vazquez-Garcia, it sentenced him to 48 months in custody, an 18-month upward variance from the top recommended sentencing range of 24 to 30 months. On appeal, Mr. Vazquez-Garcia argues his sentence is both procedurally and substantively unreasonable.

Outcome: Affirmed.

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