USA v. Roberto Saenz-Aranda

Filing

UNPUBLISHED OPINION FILED. [14-50516 Affirmed ] Judge: ECP , Judge: PRO , Judge: JEG Mandate pull date is 03/23/2015 for Appellant Roberto Saenz-Aranda [14-50516]

Case: 14-50516

Document: 00512954377

Page: 1

Date Filed: 03/02/2015

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit

No. 14-50516
Summary Calendar

FILED
March 2, 2015
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
ROBERTO SAENZ-ARANDA,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 4:14-CR-31
Before PRADO, OWEN, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *

Roberto Saenz-Aranda appeals the 24-month sentence imposed following
his guilty plea conviction for illegal reentry following prior removal. He argues
that his sentence, which is at the low end of the applicable guidelines range, is
greater than necessary to meet the sentencing objectives of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
Saenz-Aranda contests the application of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, the illegal reentry
guideline, on the basis that it is not empirically based, double counts prior

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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH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.
*

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No. 14-50516
convictions, and does not account for the nonviolent nature of his offense,
which he asserts is an “international trespass.” He also contends that the
district court did not account for his personal circumstances, specifically that
he reentered the United States because of the violence in Mexico and to be
reunited with his family.
Saenz-Aranda did not object to the reasonableness of his sentence and,
thus, our review is for plain error. See United States v. Peltier, 505 F.3d 389,
391-92 (5th Cir. 2007). Saenz-Aranda acknowledges that we apply plain error
review when a defendant fails to object to the reasonableness of the sentence
imposed in the district court; however, he seeks to preserve this issue for
further review.
As Saenz-Aranda recognizes, his assertion that the presumption of
reasonableness should not apply because § 2L1.2 lacks an empirical basis is
foreclosed, and he raises it to preserve it for further review. See United States
v. Mondragon-Santiago, 564 F.3d 357, 366-67 (5th Cir. 2009). We likewise
have rejected his contention that a within-guidelines sentence is unreasonable
because § 2L1.2 effectively double counts prior convictions. United States v.
Duarte, 569 F.3d 528, 529-30 (5th Cir. 2009). Also, we have not been persuaded
by the claim that the Sentencing Guidelines do not take into account the
nonviolent nature of an illegal reentry offense. See United States v. AguirreVilla, 460 F.3d 681, 683 (5th Cir. 2006).
With regard to Saenz-Aranda’s claim that his sentence did not reflect his
personal circumstances, the district court considered his arguments that a
lesser sentence was warranted on those grounds and determined that a
sentence within the guidelines range was proper.

We will give “great

deference” to a properly calculated within-guidelines sentence, see United
States v. Mares, 402 F.3d 511, 519-20 (5th Cir. 2005), and Saenz-Aranda has

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not demonstrated that the district court’s presumptively reasonable choice of
sentence was erroneous. See United States v. Cooks, 589 F.3d 173, 186 (5th
Cir. 2009). His assertions on appeal are insufficient to rebut the presumption
of reasonableness. See United States v. Gomez-Herrera, 523 F.3d 554, 565-66
(5th Cir. 2008).
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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