Medina-Villa

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Medina, who was seen by a border patrol agent running from the fence between the United States and Mexico along with two other individuals, was apprehended after getting into the passenger seat of a parked car. Blocking the car’s escape with his own parked vehicle, Agent Mills approached the sus- pects with his gun drawn and ordered the driver out of the car. Mills then asked Medina about his citizenship and immigra- tion status, and Medina answered that he was a Mexican citi- zen with no immigration papers. Medina was then arrested, waived his Miranda rights, and was interrogated at a border patrol station. He told the agents that he was forced to cross the border under threat of physical harm. He explained that a smuggler tricked him to get him close to the border with the promise of work, obtained the phone number of Medina’s family members and, under threat of injury, told them to pay $1,300. Medina also stated that he was kept in the smuggler’s house for several days without food and that he was beaten when he tried to turn back from the fence. The border patrol agents then interviewed on the record the two other Mexican 7480 …