United States of America v. Claudio Alvarez Rodriguez

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 21-4563
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
CLAUDIO ALVAREZ RODRIGUEZ,
Defendant – Appellant.
------------------------------
LEGAL SERVICE PROVIDERS; IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS;
DR. S. DEBORAH KANG; ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE;
HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST; NORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECT;
ADVOCATES FOR BASIC LEGAL EQUALITY, INC.; JUSTICE STRATEGIES;
LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF; LEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER;
MASSACHUSETTS LAW REFORM INSTITUTE; NATIONAL IMMIGRATION
LAW CENTER; IMMIGRATION SCHOLARS; CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION
LAW AND POLICY; AOKI CENTER FOR CRITICAL RACE AND NATION
STUDIES; SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER; PROFESSOR ERIC FISH,
Amici Supporting Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
Alexandria. Anthony John Trenga, Senior District Judge. (1:21−cr−00179−AJT−1)
Argued: September 22, 2023 Decided: April 4, 2024
Before DIAZ, Chief Judge, and AGEE and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.

-- 1 of 3 --

2
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
ARGUED: Patrick L. Bryant, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER,
Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant. Joseph Attias, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Geremy C. Kamens,
Federal Public Defender, Cadence A. Mertz, Assistant Federal Public Defender,
Alexandria, Virginia, Julie K. Linnen, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF
THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellant. Jessica D. Aber,
United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Richmond,
Virginia, for Appellee. Khaled Alrabe, Ann Garcia, NATIONAL IMMIGRATION
PROJECT OF THE LAWYERS GUILD, Washington, D.C.; Charles Roth, NATIONAL
IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CENTER, Chicago, Illinois, for Amici Legal Service Providers
and Immigrant Rights Organizations. Philip L. Torrey, Rachel Landry, Crimmigration
Clinic, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for Amicus Dr. S.
Deborah Kang. Michele Akemi McKenzie, MCKENZIE SCOTT PC, San Diego,
California, for Amici Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Human Rights, First, and
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Lourdes Rosado, President and General Counsel,
Andrew Case, LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF, New York, New York; Max S. Wolson,
Washington, D.C., Nicholas David Espiritu, NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW
CENTER, Los Angeles, California, for Amici Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Justice
Strategies, Latino Justice PRLDEF, Legal Aid Justice Center, Massachusetts Law Reform
Institute, and National Immigration Law Center. Amanda Valerio, Washington, D.C.,
Alexia D. Korberg, Melina Meneguin Layerenza, Patrick McCusker, PAUL, WEISS,
RIFKIND, WHARTON & GARRISON LLP, New York, New York, for Amici
Immigration Scholars. Yaman Salahi, EDELSON PC, San Francisco, California, for
Amici The Center for Immigration Law and Policy, The Aoki Center for Critical Race and
Nation Studies, The Southern Poverty Law Center, and Professor Eric Fish.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

-- 2 of 3 --

3
PER CURIAM:
Claudio Alvarez Rodriguez was convicted of illegally reentering the United States
after a previous removal in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He moved to dismiss his
indictment, arguing that § 1326 is unconstitutional because it was enacted with a racially
discriminatory purpose. According to Rodriguez, a predecessor illegal-reentry statute from
1929 was based on racial animus, and that same animus carried over to § 1326, enacted
almost 25 years later as part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The district court
denied Rodriguez’s motion to dismiss, finding that § 1326 is “not unconstitutional based
on an impermissible motive in its . . . origins or its provenance.” J.A. 1134.
In United States v. Sanchez-Garcia, No. 22-4072 (4th Cir. Apr. 4, 2024), we
sustained the constitutionality of § 1326 against the same argument raised by Rodriguez.
Consistent with our holding in Sanchez-Garcia, we affirm the judgment of the district
court.
AFFIRMED

-- 3 of 3 --