MEMORANDUM2

Victor Manuel Aguirre-Rea appeals the judgment of conviction and 57-month sentence following his guilty plea to a single count of being a deported alien found in the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Aguirre-Rea contends that in light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. *592466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), section 1326(b)(2) is unconstitutional because it allows a court to increase the maximum penalty at sentencing, based on whether a defendant was deported subsequent to a prior conviction for an aggravated felony, without submitting this fact to a jury for proof beyond a reasonable doubt. This contention is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998) (upholding enhancement where the defendant admitted to underlying felony convictions and subsequent deportation) and by United States v. Pacheco-Zepeda, 234 F.3d 411 (9th Cir. 2000), as amended (Feb. 8, 2001), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 121 S.Ct. 1503, — L.Ed.2d — (2001). See United States v. Castillo Rivera, 244 F.3d 1020 (9th Cir. 2001).

AFFIRMED.