In United States v. Madrid-Becerra, --- F.4th ---, No. 19-10458 (9th Cir. 2021), the Court affirmed a sentence for illegal re-entry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a).
After serving a portion of a 2013 Arizona state sentence in prison, Madrid-Becerra was granted early conditional release under Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 41-1604.14 (repealed Aug. 6, 2016), known as the “half-term to deport” program. He was then deported but came back to the U.S. without permission and was charged with 1326.
Madrid-Becerra’s argument was that he did not commit his illegal reentry offense “while under any criminal justice sentence,” as required by § 4A1.1(d). Thus, he claimed the district court erred by applying U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(d).
A divided panel disagreed. The majority rejected Madrid-Becerra’s argument that his early release did not provide for supervision of, or place restrictions or conditions on, his subsequent actions.
