Ruiz-Chairez

BACKGROUND

Ruiz is a native and citizen of Mexico who has been previ- ously deported, and has several criminal convictions on his record. His convictions include one for selling cocaine, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison, and another for domestic violence, for which he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was last deported in 1999. In 2003, Ruiz was found in the Bay Area, and the government indicted him for being found in the United States after having been previ- ously deported, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Ruiz pleaded guilty as charged.

The sentencing guidelines provide for a base offense level of 8 for the violation of § 1326. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(a). It then provides for differing levels of enhancements depending on the nature and severity of the defendant’s criminal history. Those who have been previously convicted of a “crime of vio- lence” or a “drug trafficking offense” fall into the category of illegal reentrants who receive a 16 level enhancement, the stiffest enhancement under the illegal reentry guideline. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(I), (ii).

Ruiz has previously been convicted of selling cocaine, which is a “drug trafficking offense,” and for…