In United States v. Aldana, --- F.3d---, No. 16-50372 (9th Cir. 2017), the Court affirmed the defendants' misdemeanor convictions under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1325(a)(1) for attempting to enter the United States “at any
time or place other than as designated by immigration
officers.”
The Court rejected the defendants' argument that, because the applicable regulations designate entire geographic regions as ports of entry -- rather than just the actual immigration facilities -- and because they entered within that such a region, there was insufficient evidence they had violated the statute.
Instead, the Court held that, for purposes of the statute, a place “designated by
immigration officers” refers to a specific immigration facility,
not an entire geographic area.
