United States v. Esteban Bahena-Cardenas

Esteban Bahena-Cardenas was convicted by a jury of entering the United States without permission of the Attorney General after being excluded, deported, or removed from the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Bahena-Cardenas first came to the attention of the immigration service following his and his brother’s arrest and conviction for possessing heroin with intent to sell. After serving his sentence for the drug crime, he and his brother were ordered deported following a joint hearing in front of an immigration judge (“IJ”) at which they were represented by counsel. Bahena-Cardenas was not able to attend the first day of the hearing because he was in a coma caused by a car accident. The IJ denied his lawyer’s request that his case be severed from his brother’s so that the hearing would not take place in his absence. During this first day, the government presented the testimony of the undercover Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) agent who arrested Bahena-Cardenas and his brother. After Bahena-Cardenas recovered and was present, the agent was recalled and fully cross-examined. The IJ determined that Bahena-Cardenas was not a United States citizen…