Jimenez-Borja
United States v. Jimenez-Borja
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Silverman, J.
We hold today that a previously-deported alien can be deemed to have been “found in” the United States when he was found by local police. He need not have been found by the INS.
I. FACTS
On August 25, 1998, Baltazar Jimenez-Borja admitted to an immigration judge that he was in the United States illegally, and was deported the same day. Three years later, Jimenez-Borja was again found in the United States. His prior deportation was reinstated and he was removed to Mexico on April 11, 2001.
Now the current charges: On October 5, 2001, Officer Russell Whittaker of the Escondido, California Police Department encountered Jimenez-Borja on Highway 78, approximately 35 miles north of the Mexican border. To make a long story short, Jimenez-Borja was arrested for robbery and possession of a controlled' substance and booked into the local jail. On November 15, 2001, he pled guilty to a state drug charge and was placed on three years probation. However, he was not released from jail, because of a parole hold from a prior conviction.
On March 14, 2002, INS Special Agent Michael Haynes interviewed Jimenez-Bor-ja in a holding cell in the federal building. Jimenez-Borja admitted to Haynes…