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Keywords

pleafelonydeportationdeterrence

defendantappealfelonydeportation

Related Cases

Vasquez-Abarca; U.S. v.

Facts

Carlos Vasquez-Abarca was brought to the United States from Mexico as a child and has been deported three times. He has a criminal history that includes a felony sex offense and multiple driving-related offenses. After his last deportation in 2015, he illegally reentered the U.S. in 2016 and was later arrested for obstructing justice. He ultimately pleaded guilty to illegal reentry after a felony conviction.

Vasquez-Abarca's parents brought him to the United States from Mexico in 1986, when he was about five years old. He has been deported from the United States on three prior occasions, in 1997, 2005, and 2015. His first encounter with law enforcement in the United States came in 1995at the age of 14when he was arrested for having sex with a 12-year-old. For reasons that are not clear, Vasquez-Abarca evidently told Illinois authorities that he was either 16 or 17 years old. Based on that age difference, he was convicted of a felony sex offense in June 1996. He was imprisoned in Illinois and then deported to Mexico for the first time on July 25, 1997.

Issue

Whether the district court provided a sufficient explanation for the 72-month sentence and whether the sentence was substantively reasonable.

The only questions on appeal are whether the district court gave a sufficient explanation for the 72-month sentence and whether the sentence was substantively reasonable.

Rule

The district court must explain the sentence in terms of the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) and the substantive reasonableness of a sentence is reviewed for abuse of discretion.

The district court must explain the sentence in terms of the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a).

Analysis

The court applied the rule by examining the district court's reasoning for the sentence, which included Vasquez-Abarca's extensive criminal history, the need for deterrence, and the public safety concerns regarding unlicensed driving. The court found that the district court adequately justified the above-guideline sentence based on these factors.

Applying these general principles to this case, we conclude that the district court sufficiently explained the 72-month sentence and that the sentence was not substantively unreasonable for Vasquez-Abarca. First, the court cited Vasquez-Abarca's extensive criminal history. See 18 U.S.C. 3553(a)(1) (directing courts to consider 'the history and characteristics of the defendant'). The court correctly observed that Vasquez-Abarca illegally reentered after each of his three deportations. The court also noted that he had six prior felony convictions.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the sentence, concluding that it was not substantively unreasonable given the circumstances.

The district court adequately explained the sentence, which was not substantively unreasonable in this case.

Who won?

The United States prevailed in the case as the court upheld the district court's sentence.

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Keywords

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