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Maureen Franco in El Paso also noted, “[Defendants] are not caught … [because they’ve]
committed another crime. They’re caught coming across the border.” 60
The shift is less pronounced in districts that focus primarily on illegal reentry prosecutions
(as opposed to illegal entry misdemeanors) such as in the Central and Southern Districts of
California, where defense attorneys observed their clients generally have prior felony
convictions. But even in these districts, attorneys noted seeing a decrease in people with
serious criminal records and an increase in people whose prior convictions are for minor
nonviolent offenses, such as drug possession.” 61
Several attorneys also recounted cases in which the last offense had been committed 10 or
more years ago, which raises serious doubts about whether these individuals are currently a
threat to public safety. Angela Viramontes, an assistant federal defender in Riverside,
California, observed of her illegal reentry clients, “I see a lot of people who have really
transformed their lives…. A lot of these crimes they committed as young men.” 62 Firdaus Dordi,
an assistant federal defender in Los Angeles, California, described a case in which a client
had committed two burglaries 16 and 13 years prior to his illegal reentry charge. “He had a
drinking problem, he swore to his wife after the second conviction that he would clean up his
act.” He committed no new offenses and instead became a “business owner, homeowner, [he
did] great things in his community,” but he still received a two-year sentence for illegal
reentry. 63 A judge in a 2011 illegal reentry case in New Mexico noted how the defendant’s
criminal convictions were close to 20 years old and that “[i]t appears [the defendant] has
been a good neighbor and a good community member over the last 20 years.” 64
60 Human Rights Watch interview with Maureen Franco, federal public defender, El Paso, Texas, September 25, 2012.
61 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Victor Torres, criminal defense attorney in San Diego, California, June 29, 2012;
and interview with Shaffy Moeel and Bridget Kennedy, assistant federal defenders, San Diego, California, September 5, 2012.
Candis Mitchell noted that many of her clients have no prior criminal convictions but are prosecuted for presenting false
documents. Human Rights Watch interview with Candis Mitchell, assistant federal defender, San Diego, California, July 22, 2012.
62 Human Rights Watch interview with Angela Viramontes, assistant federal defender, Los Angeles, California, October 29, 2012.
63 Human Rights Watch interviews with Firdaus Dordi, assistant federal defender, Los Angeles, California, August 30, 2012
and January 24, 2013. The two-year sentence his client received was already below the sentence he would have received
under the US sentencing guidelines.
64 United States v. Agustin DeHoyos-Banderas, 2011 US Dist. LEXIS 37812, No. CR 10-2674 JB (D. N.M. 2011).
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