United States v. Jaime Vasquez-Benitez
Opinion
*548 Jaime Omar Vasquez-Benitez is a citizen of El Salvador who has illegally entered the United States more than once and been removed from the country at least once. Upon his most recent entry, Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") civilly detained him for the purpose of removing him from the country. The United States Attorney for the District of Columbia ("U.S. Attorney") also criminally charged him with unlawful reentry. Both his criminal and civil proceedings are currently ongoing. The district court decided (1) that it is unnecessary to detain Vasquez-Benitez in order to ensure his presence at his criminal trial and (2) that its ruling releasing him pre-trial means ICE cannot civilly detain Vasquez-Benitez in order to remove him from the country. The United States appeals both decisions. We affirm the district court's decision declining to detain Vasquez-Benitez pending trial but reverse its decision prohibiting ICE from civilly detaining him pending removal.
I. BACKGROUND
Vasquez-Benitez first entered the country illegally sometime before 2001. In 2001, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear in California state court on a charge of driving without a license. In 2005, he was accused of breaking into a woman's residence in Washington, D.C., attempting to sexually assault her at knifepoint and threatening retaliation if she called the police. He stood trial in D.C. Superior Court, where he was acquitted of certain charges but convicted of obstruction of justice based on the threat. He was sentenced to a term of three years' imprisonment, which he served from 2005 until 2008. Upon his release in 2008, ICE initiated proceedings to remove him from the country and he was removed to El Salvador. He reentered the country sometime before 2016, when he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department ("MPD") for allegedly attacking two individuals with a knife and identifying himself as a member of the violent 18th Street gang. The assault charges against him were dismissed, apparently before ICE was alerted to his presence, and he was released into the community. On July 12, 2018, MPD officers stopped Vasquez-Benitez because his torso and arms were covered in tattoos associated with 18th Street and arrested him for suspected gang activity. This time the MPD contacted ICE.
A. The Civil Proceedings
ICE identified Vasquez-Benitez as an illegal alien subject to a final order of
*549
removal and took him into immigration custody pursuant to
B. The Criminal Proceedings
On August 16, 2018, an ICE officer, with probable cause to believe Vasquez-Benitez had illegally reentered the country in violation of
On August 22, Vasquez-Benitez entered his initial appearance and on August 28 the magistrate judge conducted a detention hearing under the Bail Reform Act ("BRA"),
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On September 7, Vasquez-Benitez filed a motion to compel his release from ICE custody or, in the alternative, to dismiss the criminal charge against him with prejudice. On September 13, the grand jury indicted Vasquez-Benitez on one count of reentry of an alien deported following a felony conviction, in violation of
On September 26, the district judge issued an order granting Vasquez-Benitez's motion to compel his release. The district judge held that ICE loses its authority to civilly detain an illegal alien pending removal under the INA if that alien is charged with a crime and the court finds there is no need to detain him pending trial under the BRA. The district judge also announced his intention to reconsider, in light of new evidence, the BRA detention decision reached by the magistrate judge and the previous district judge. On September 27, the district judge conducted another detention hearing and-after considering the new evidence-agreed with the two predecessor judges that "there is not a sufficient risk of flight to justify pretrial detention." The district judge subsequently entered an order directing the U.S. Marshal to release Vasquez-Benitez and not to return him to ICE custody.
In this consolidated appeal the U.S. Attorney challenges the district court decision releasing Vasquez-Benitez pre-trial under the BRA; separately, the Office of Immigration Litigation of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice challenges the district court order "prohibiting [ICE] from administratively detaining the defendant for immigration proceedings during the pendency of his criminal prosecution."
II. BAIL REFORM ACT RELEASE
We first review the district court's decision not to detain Vasquez-Benitez under the BRA.
The four factors a court must consider to determine whether an individual is a flight risk are (1) "the nature and circumstances of the offense charged"; (2) "the weight of the evidence against the person"; (3) "the history and characteristics
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of the person," including "the person's character, physical and mental condition, family ties, employment, financial resources, length of residence in the community, community ties, past conduct, history relating to drug or alcohol abuse, criminal history, and record concerning appearance at court proceedings"; and (4) "the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community that would be posed by the person's release."
We agree with both parties that we review for clear error the district court's determination that a defendant is not a flight risk.
See
United States v. Smith
,
Although one may doubt the credibility of Vasquez-Benitez's narrative, we are not well-positioned, as appellate judges, to make credibility determinations. That is a task best left to the trial court. In this case, three different trial judges have determined that Vasquez-Benitez is not a flight risk. Especially considering "the large discretion normally accorded the trial court in this area,"
*552
United States v. Xulam
,
III. CIVIL DETENTION UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT
Next, we review the district court's September 26 order barring ICE from civilly detaining Vasquez-Benitez pending removal once he was ordered released pursuant to the BRA. The district court held that, when the U.S. Attorney chooses to bring criminal charges against a defendant subject to removal under the INA, "a judicial order under the Bail Reform Act provides the sole avenue for detaining defendant while the charges are pending." Opinion and Order, District Ct. Docket, ECF 26 at 1. First, it held that
Reviewing these legal conclusions
de novo
,
see
Eldred v. Reno
,
Neither do we see a statutory conflict.
Nor do the BRA and the INA conflict more generally. Individuals are detained under the BRA under authority separate from that used to detain individuals under the INA. A criminal defendant is detained under the BRA to ensure his presence at his criminal trial and the safety of the community.
See
A further word is warranted. The district court relied on the principle " 'that a precisely drawn, detailed statute pre-empts more general remedies,' even where both 'literally appl[y].' " Opinion and Order at 3 (quoting
Brown v. Gen. Servs. Admin.
,
We acknowledge that some district courts over the past several years have held, like the district court here, that the BRA and the INA conflict in cases like this one.
See
United States v. Trujillo-Alvarez
,
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court order releasing Vasquez-Benitez from pre-trial custody under the Bail Reform Act but vacate its order prohibiting the U.S. Marshal from delivering Vasquez-Benitez to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
So ordered .
See
We do not reach Vasquez-Benitez's argument that ICE lacks authority under the INA to detain him, which he failed to adequately raise below.
See
Because the second district judge agreed with his two predecessors that Vasquez-Benitez need not be detained, we do not reach Vasquez-Benitez's argument that the second district judge lacked the authority to reopen the detention hearing under
The second factor is "the weight of the evidence against the person."
If the judicial officer determines[, upon the appearance before the judicial officer of a person charged with an offense,] that -
(1) such person -
* * *
(B) is not a citizen of the United States or lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) ); and
(2) such person may flee or pose a danger to any other person or the community ;
such judicial officer shall order the detention of such person, for a period of not more than ten days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and direct the attorney for the Government to notify the ... appropriate official of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. If the official fails or declines to take such person into custody during that period, such person shall be treated in accordance with the other provisions of this section, notwithstanding the applicability of other provisions of law governing release pending trial or deportation or exclusion proceedings. If temporary detention is sought under paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection, such person has the burden of proving to the court such person's United States citizenship or lawful admission for permanent residence.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Appellant v. Jaime Omar VASQUEZ-BENITEZ, Also Known as Guero, Also Known as Alex Antonio Vasquez, Also Known as Jaime Hureo, Also Known as Jerman Vasquez-Mato, Also Known as Julio Israel Vasquez, Also Known as Herman Eduardo Vasquez, Appellee
- Cited By
- 67 cases
- Status
- Published