Guillen-Ruiz
United States v. Guillen-Ruiz
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM ***
Defendant Manuel Guillen-Ruiz appeals his conviction for illegal reentry into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . He presents two arguments on appeal: (1) the government presented insufficient evidence of his alienage, an essential element of the crime of illegal reentry; and (2) he received ineffective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment. We affirm the conviction and decline to rule on Guillen-Ruiz’s ineffective assistance claim at this time.
First, as Guillen-Ruiz did not renew his motion for judgment of acquittal at the end of trial, plain error review is in order. See United States v. Delgado, 357 F.3d 1061, 1068 (9th Cir.2004). A review of the evidence reveals that there was no plain error. To prove alienage, the government presented evidence of Guillen-Ruiz’s past admissions of alienage, a prior order of deportation, his previous use of aliases in dealings with immigration officials, and the circumstances surrounding his arrest. This evidence was sufficient to satisfy the government’s burden of proof. See United States v. Galindo-Gallegos, 244 F.3d 728, 732 (9th Cir.2001).