Guillen-Cervantes

In connection with activities performed as part of an alien smuggling organization operating out of Tucson, Arizona, Ruperto Guillen-Cervantes and Betty Castillo were convicted of conspiring to transport and harbor illegal aliens, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(1). They each received a term of imprisonment and a forfeiture judgment — thirty-seven months and $229,000 for Guillen-Cervantes, and thirty-seven months and $290,000 for Castillo. Castillo challenges her forfeiture judgment on appeal, contending that it violates her due process rights under the Fifth Amendment because she is unable to seek contribution from other members of the conspiracy. 1 We review de novo a Fifth Amendment due process challenge to the constitutionality of a criminal sentence. United States v. Garcia-Guizar, 234 F.3d 483 , 489 n. 2 (9th Cir.2000). We affirm Castillo’s forfeiture judgment.

I.

To state a prima facie substantive or procedural due process claim, one must, as a threshold matter, identify a liberty or property interest protected by the Constitution. See Wedges/Ledges of Cal, Inc. v. City of Phoenix, 24 F.3d 56, 62 (9th Cir.1994). The Constitution itself creates no property…