United States v. Jose Francisco Reyna-Tapia, AKA Jose Reyna

We write primarily to establish whether a district court may delegate its duty to conduct a Rule 11 plea colloquy in a felony case to a magistrate judge with the defendant’s consent. We hold that it may, provided the district judge reviews the record de novo. In addition, the appellant raises the issue of whether deportation terminates lawful permanent residence. To dispel any doubt, we hold that upon deportation an alien’s status as a lawful permanent resident ends.

I.

Factual and Procedural Background

Reyna-Tapia originally entered the United States illegally in the mid-1980s. In 1990, he became a lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) through the amnesty program. See 8 U.S.C. § 1255a (1988). In 1998, Reyna-Tapia pled guilty to the offense of sexual abuse of a minor, an aggravated felony. The INS initiated deportation proceedings against him, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1229 , based on the aggravated felony conviction. He was ordered removed from the United States on October 19, 1999.

On October 1, 2000, Reyna-Tapia was found a few miles north of the border between Mexico and Arizona. Magistrate Judge Irwin in Yuma issued an order of temporary detention, which indicated that…