Case: 10-50388 Document: 00511325283 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/17/2010




           IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT  United States Court of Appeals
                                                    Fifth Circuit

                                                 FILED
                                                                         December 17, 2010
                                     No. 10-50388
                                   Summary Calendar                         Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                 Clerk

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                                                   Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

RAMON NUNEZ-MORALES, also known as Nicolas Iciordia,

                                                   Defendant-Appellant


                    Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Western District of Texas
                              USDC No. 1:10-CR-33-1


Before KING, BENAVIDES, and ELROD, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
       Ramon Nunez-Morales appeals the 57-month sentence he received
following his guilty plea conviction for illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C.
§ 1326. Although he argues to the contrary, sentences within the properly-
calculated guidelines range determined under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 are entitled to
a presumption of reasonableness. See United States v. Mondragon-Santiago, 

, 366-67 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 

(2009). Additionally,
because Nunez-Morales did not object to his sentence as unreasonable in the

       *
         Pursuant to 5TH CIR . R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR .
R. 47.5.4.
    Case: 10-50388 Document: 00511325283 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/17/2010

                                  No. 10-50388

district court, we review the reasonableness of the sentence for plain error. See
United States v. Peltier, 

, 391-92 (5th Cir. 2007).
      First, Nunez-Morales asserts that his sentence overstated the danger he
presents to the community and his risk of recidivism because § 2L1.2 “double
counts” the defendant’s criminal record, using it to determine his offense level
and his criminal history score. A sentence calculated under § 2L1.2 is not
unreasonable because the Guideline double counts the defendant’s criminal
history. See United States v. Duarte, 

, 529-31 (5th Cir.), cert.
denied, 

(2009); 

; see also
§ 2L1.2, comment. (n.6) (a conviction that triggers the 16-level enhancement may
be assigned criminal history points).
      Next, Nunez-Morales asserts that the Guidelines produced a sentence
greater than necessary to meet the sentencing goals of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)
because they failed to account adequately for his personal circumstances,
history, and characteristics, in that he has been “mostly law-abiding and hard-
working” for the past decade. He contends, relatedly, that illegal reentry is not
evil in itself and essentially is an “international trespass.”
      A sentence resulting from the 16-level enhancement under § 2L1.2 is not
unreasonable simply because illegal reentry arguably is akin to a trespass
offense. See United States v. Aguirre-Villa, 

, 683 (5th Cir. 2006).
The court listened to Nunez-Morales’s arguments for a lower sentence and
rejected them. Nunez-Morales has failed to offer a persuasive reason for this
court to disturb the district court’s sentence at the bottom of the applicable
guidelines range. See 

has failed to demonstrate any
error, plain or otherwise, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.




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