United States v. Zamudio, No. 12-2480 (7th Cir. 2013)
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The defendant’s sentence, under the heading “additional imprisonment terms,” states that the “defendant is to be turned over to the proper immigration authorities for deportation proceedings upon completion of term of incarceration. If deported, defendant is to remain outside the United States and is not to return without the written consent of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.” The Seventh Circuit struck the provision as unauthorized. Only an immigration judge may order removal, 8 U.S.C. 1229a(a)(3), unless the prosecutor and immigration officials request that the district judge hold a removal hearing, a request not made in this case. A district judge may order, as a condition of supervised release, that a defendant be turned over to immigration officials, but if there is no order of supervised release, as here, imposition of such a condition is ultra vires. The court noted that there is no need for the “added measure” in this case, because the defendant is an aggravated felon. An aggravated felon who is an alien is removable upon the completion of his prison sentence, removal proceedings must be begun before the end of his prison term, and he must be detained until completion, 8 U.S.C. 1226(c)(1)(B), 1228(a)(1)-(2), (3)(A).
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