Echevarria-Valenzuela

*739 MEMORANDUM

Aurelio Echevarria-Valenzuela (“Eche-varria”) appeals his thirty-seven month sentence for violating 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . Echevarria contends that his base offense level was improperly enhanced by sixteen levels as a result of the district court’s determination that his state felony conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol (“DUI”) qualifies as an “aggravated felony” under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (b)(2) and United States Sentencing Guideline § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A). Echevarria also contends that the district court erred by construing his prior felony conviction as a sentencing enhancement factor rather than as an element of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (b).

In May of 1995, Echevarria was convicted of an aggravated DUI in Pima County, Arizona. Echevarria was sentenced to 2.5 years of imprisonment for the offense. Deportation proceedings were initiated upon completion of Echevarria’s prison sentence, and he was removed from the United States on April 12, 1999. Shortly thereafter, Echevarria reentered the United States without permission, and was detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Arizona. On January 4, 2000, Echevarria pled guilty to an information charging…