UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lung Van NGUYEN, Defendant-Appellant

Lung Van Nguyen appeals his conviction for bringing aliens into the United States at a location other than a designated port of entry, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(1)(A). We have jurisdiction, and we reverse because the district court failed to instruct the jury regarding an essential element of the offense.

I

Nguyen’s arrest resulted from a federal investigation of a suspected large-scale alien smuggling scheme. Based on their surveillance of the harbor at Moss Landing, California, law enforcement agents suspected that two fishing vessels, the “Angel” and the “Pelican,” were being used in an elaborate scheme to smuggle Chinese nationals into the United States and then employ them until the aliens had paid through their labor the smugglers’ fees for transporting the aliens into the United States.

On May 28, 1993, the Angel and the Pelican departed together from Moss Landing, headed west. Air surveillance by the United States Coast Guard during the next few days showed that the boats were traveling parallel, about ten miles apart. The two boats eventually rendezvoused with a larger “mother ship” carrying approximately 280 Chinese nationals. The aliens were moved from the…