In U.S. v. Caraballo, No. 09-10428 (Jan. 27, 2010), the Court affirmed alien smuggling convictions.
The Court found probable cause for the defendant’s arrest, and affirmed denial of the motion to suppress: Law enforcement observed a fishing boat displaying inconsistent types of fishing rods; two persons aboard were nervously scanning the shoreline; once at the boat ramp the persons were moving as quickly as possible to load the boat onto a truck; they gave inconsistent answers to questions; and they appeared “very nervous.” Further, the agents were justified in undertaking a “protective sweep” of the boat (without a warrant): the conduct of the persons questioned by law enforcement gave reason to believe that there may have been another person on board (eleven illegal aliens were found, stowed away together in a cabin). In addition, under Florida law, an officer does not need probable cause to stop a boat to check for fishing permits, and opening a cabin door falls under that authorization.
The Court rejected the argument that the admission of biographical information regarding the eleven illegal aliens from the I-213 Immigration Forms violated the hearsay rule and the Confrontation Clause’s prohibition on the admission of testimonial statements. The Court found that “the basic biographical information recorded on the I-213 Form is routinely requested from every alien entering the United States.” It mattered not, therefore, that the information was later used in a criminal prosecution. The primary purpose of the questioning of the aliens is to elicit biographical information required of every foreign entrant. Moreover, any error in admitting the I-213s was harmless because the presence of eleven people, only one of whom could speak English, crammed into the closed cabin of a boat in August in South Florida, coupled with the cooperating witnesses’ testimony that they knew they were engaging in illegal smuggling, established alienage.
Turning to sentencing, the Court affirmed the “reckless endangerment” enhancement. “Caraballo smuggled eleven aliens on a five-and-one-half-hour open water voyage from the Bahamas to Miami in August in a small and enclosed cabin, on a twenty-five-foot fishing boat that was not equipped with enough life jackets.”
The Court also affirmed a supervisory role sentence enhancement, noting evidence that Caraballo recruited the others.
Finally, the Court affirmed the denial of an acceptance of responsibility sentence reduction, pointing out that Caraballo contested his guilt at trial, and maintained that he was an “innocent bystander.”
