United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT July 11, 2007 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 06-11287 Conference Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus IGNACIO LARES-MERAZ, Defendant-Appellant.

-------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 6:06-CR-37 -------------------- Before JOLLY, CLEMENT, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:* Appealing the Judgment in a Criminal Case, Ignacio Lares- Meraz (Lares) raises arguments that are foreclosed by Almendarez- Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 235 (1998), which held that 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2) is a penalty provision and not a separate criminal offense. Lares also raises arguments that are foreclosed by United States v. Mejia-Huerta, 480 F.3d 713, 723 (5th Cir. 2007), petition for cert. filed, 75 U.S.L.W. 3585 (U.S. Apr. 18, 2007) (No. 06-1381), which held that the district court is not required to provide notice prior to sentencing of its sua * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.

No. 06-11287 -2- sponte intention to impose a non-Guidelines sentence. The Government’s motion for summary affirmance is GRANTED, and the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.