Barajas-Alvarado

To convict an alien criminal defendant of illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 , the government must prove that the alien left the United States under order of exclusion, deportation, or removal, and then illegally reentered. In United States v. Mendozar-Lopez, the Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant has a Fifth Amendment right to “some meaningful review” of a prior administrative proceeding that resulted in the exclusion, deportation, or removal order used as a predicate to a § 1326 offense. 481 U.S. 828, 837-38 , 107 S.Ct. 2148 , 95 L.Ed.2d 772 (1987). Here, we conclude that Barajas-Alvarado was entitled to judicial review of the predicate expedited removal orders underlying his § 1326 prosecution but failed to show any prejudice resulting from the alleged procedural flaws in the proceedings that resulted in those orders. We therefore affirm the district court’s denial of Barajas-Alvarado’s motion to dismiss his indictment and the subsequent conviction and sentence.

I

Luis Mario Barajas-Alvarado was removed to Mexico from the United States through the San Ysidro, California, Port of Entry on December 11, 2002, and July 24, 2003, via expedited removal orders.…