United States v. Yamina Abigail Munoz

Yamina Abigail Munoz appeals her convictions under 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(2)(B)(ii) & (iii) for two counts of bringing illegal aliens to the United States for financial gain, and two counts of bringing illegal aliens to the United States without presentation to an immigration officer. Munoz argues that the district court erred by giving a jury instruction that relieved the government of its burden of proving one of the elements of the financial gain offenses, by denying her motion for acquittal when the government failed to prove that the aliens found in her car lacked permission to “come to,” as opposed to “enter,” the United States, and by allowing the government to elicit testimony regarding a border inspector’s reasons for referring Munoz to secondary inspection. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm the district court’s denial of Munoz’s motion for acquittal and its challenged evidentiary ruling, but reverse Munoz’s convictions on the two pecuniary gain counts, and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

At approximately 5:45 a.m. on April 2, 2003, Munoz and her two young children arrived at the San Ysidro, California, Port of Entry in a Ford mini…