CARL E. STEWART, Chief Judge:
This is an appeal from the district court's revocation of Defendant Israel Juarez-Velasquez's (Juarez) supervised release. Juarez argues on appeal that his
In June 2007, Juarez, an undocumented Mexican national, was deported from the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony — Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Sell/Deliver. Approximately one month after his deportation, Juarez unlawfully reentered the United States. On June 27, 2008, United States Customs and Border Protection Agents apprehended Juarez in Texas. On July 8, 2008, the government indicted him for being "an alien" unlawfully present in the United States "who had previously been ... deported, and removed, after having been convicted of an aggravated felony." On July 15, 2008, Juarez pleaded guilty to the July 8, 2008 indictment (2008 reentry case). The district court sentenced Juarez to twenty-four months' imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Juarez completed his twenty-four month term of imprisonment and was released from federal custody on March 25, 2010. He was immediately taken into custody by the Palm Beach County, Florida Sheriff's Department to face charges for homicide and burglary. Juarez was acquitted of those charges on September 3, 2010. He remained in state custody until the conclusion of his homicide and burglary trial, and on September 15, 2010, Juarez was deported to Mexico.
In August 2012, Juarez unlawfully reentered the United States again and was apprehended in Texas on October 3, 2012, during a traffic stop. Juarez was arrested for public intoxication and possession of marijuana, and placed in the Harlingen City Jail. On October 4, 2012, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents encountered Juarez while he was in state custody in Texas and ascertained that he was unlawfully present in the United States. An immigration detainer was issued against Juarez that day. He remained in state custody until his state charges were dismissed. On April 12, 2013, the day after his state charges were dismissed, Juarez was transferred to federal custody pursuant to the immigration detainer. On May 7, 2013, the government charged him with being unlawfully present in the United States after being deported for committing an aggravated felony. Juarez pleaded guilty to that charge on May 30, 2013 (2013 reentry case). The district court sentenced him to 42 months' imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.
On May 31, 2013, Probation petitioned the district court to revoke Juarez's supervised release in his 2008 reentry case. Probation moved for revocation on the grounds that Juarez violated his probation in four ways: (1) he was an "alien unlawfully found in the United States after deportation, having previously been convicted of an aggravated felony; (2) he unlawfully possessed marijuana; (3) he reentered the United States illegally; and (4) he drove a motor vehicle without Probation's permission."
Juarez admitted to all of the alleged supervised release violations with the exception of marijuana possession. On September 4, 2013, the district court revoked Juarez's supervised release in the 2008 reentry case and sentenced him to eight months' imprisonment to be served consecutively to the forty-two month sentence
Juarez challenges, for the first time on appeal, the district court's jurisdiction to revoke his supervised release in the 2008 reentry case. Although Juarez failed to raise an objection to the district court's jurisdiction below, we review his claim de novo. See In re Berman-Smith, 737 F.3d 997, 1000 (5th Cir.2013) (per curiam) ("Jurisdiction may not be waived, and federal appellate courts have a special obligation to consider not only their own jurisdiction, but also that of the lower courts."); United States v. Meza, 620 F.3d 505, 507 (5th Cir.2010) (reviewing jurisdictional challenge to Appellant's sentence de novo even though she failed to object below).
The district court, "in imposing a sentence to a term of imprisonment for a felony or a misdemeanor, may include as a part of the sentence a requirement that the defendant be placed on a term of supervised release after imprisonment." 18 U.S.C. § 3583(a). "A district court has jurisdiction to revoke a defendant's supervised release during the term of supervised release, or within a reasonable time [thereafter] if a summons or warrant regarding a supervised release violation was issued prior to the expiration of the term of supervised release." United States v. Jackson, 426 F.3d 301, 304 (5th Cir.2005) (per curiam) (citing 18 U.S.C. § 3583(i)). As provided for by the applicable statute:
18 U.S.C. § 3624(e) (emphasis added). Section 3624(e) makes clear that tolling a term of supervised release is appropriate only when the defendant's imprisonment is connected to a criminal conviction. See United States v. Molina-Gazca, 571 F.3d 470, 474 (5th Cir.2009) ("Pretrial detention falls within `any period in which the person is imprisoned' and tolls the period of supervised release, provided a conviction ultimately occurs.").
Juarez argued in his original brief that his three-year term of supervised release commenced in March 2010 and concluded in March 2013. Therefore, according to Juarez, the district court erred by revoking his supervised release in May 2013 — after his term expired in March. His original brief asserted that although he was
The government seemingly conceded Juarez's argument that his pretrial detention in Florida did not toll his supervised release. In its briefing, however, the government "strenuously disagree[d] with Juarez that his supervised release expired on March 25, 2013, three years to date [sic] after he was released from BOP imprisonment." The government claimed that Juarez's supervised release was tolled on October 4, 2012 when federal agents in Texas issued an immigration detainer against him. The government noted that "[o]n that date Juarez had served 2 years, 5 months, and 9 days of his three-year supervised release term." According to the government, Juarez's incarceration from October 4, 2012 through September 4, 2013 was "in connection with" his 2013 reentry conviction. Therefore, the government claims, his term of supervised release tolled during that period pursuant to § 3624(e).
In reply, Juarez argued that the government failed to respond to his initial claim that his period of incarceration in Florida did not toll his supervised release. Instead, according to Juarez, the government raised "a new, factually-distinct period of pretrial detention ... to argue for a separate period of tolling as a defensive argument." Accordingly, Juarez fully addressed the government's newly-presented theory in his reply brief. He argued that the Texas state charges for which he was detained resulted in no conviction. Juarez emphasized the fact that "[d]uring the entire time that [he] was in state custody, the [2013 reentry] charge ... was not even in existence." "Consequently, [according to Juarez,] there was no factual relation between the period of state pretrial detention and the federal illegal reentry charge because the federal charge did not come into existence until after the period of pretrial detention had terminated."
It is well-established that any period of incarceration that tolls supervised release must be "in connection with a conviction." Jackson, 426 F.3d at 304; 18 U.S.C. § 3624(e). In 2009, we addressed, inter alia, the question of whether a term of pretrial detention could toll supervised release. Molina-Gazca, 571 F.3d at 472. Answering in the affirmative, we adopted the Sixth Circuit's rationale in United States v. Goins, 516 F.3d 416 (6th Cir. 2008) and made clear that pretrial detention indeed tolls a term of supervised release so long as it is in connection with a conviction. Molina-Gazca, 571 F.3d at 473-74. The question before us today focuses squarely on whether, under these facts, the immigration detainer imposed against Juarez resulted in imprisonment in connection with a conviction.
To properly address this issue, we must consider the practical and legal implications of an immigration detainer. We have explained that "`[f]iling a detainer is an informal procedure in which the INS informs prison officials that a person is subject to deportation and requests that officials give the INS notice of the person's death, impending release, or transfer to another institution.'"
Similarly in this case, Juarez was held in pretrial detention on state charges when ICE agents imposed the immigration detainer. Throughout the duration of Juarez's pretrial detention in Texas, no federal criminal charges were pending. The immigration detainer was simply an administrative mechanism that ensured that upon the completion of his state criminal matter, Juarez would be transferred to federal custody to face any immigration consequences that accrued as a result of his illegal reentry. See Zolicoffer, 315 F.3d at 540. Indeed, the day after Juarez's Texas charges were dismissed, he was released and immediately transferred to federal custody. The day after Juarez was transferred to federal custody, the United States filed illegal reentry charges against him. At that point, and not before, Juarez was imprisoned in connection with a conviction — the 2013 reentry case to which he eventually pleaded guilty.
The government also argues that because Juarez received credit — in his 2013 reentry case — for time served during his pretrial detention in Texas, that period of detention tolled his supervised release in the 2008 reentry case. We disagree.
The district court, upon Juarez's motion requesting credit for time served, entered an order stating that Juarez's detention in the 2013 reentry case began on October 4, 2012, when he was held in a Texas jail. The district court stated:
For the reasons explained above, we conclude that Juarez's terms of pretrial detention — in Florida and Texas — did not toll his supervised release. Neither period of detention was in connection with a conviction and the immigration detainer imposed during Juarez's Texas pretrial detention was an administrative hold that did not amount to imprisonment in connection with a conviction for purposes of § 3624(e). Therefore, we hold that the district court did not have jurisdiction to revoke Juarez's supervised release.
Accordingly, we vacate the district court's revocation of Juarez's supervised release. We also vacate the 8-month sentence imposed as a result of the revocation.
Second, the government alleged that Juarez's request that he receive credit for the time he spent in pretrial detention in Texas affirmatively waived any challenge on appeal to the district court's jurisdiction to revoke his supervised release. The government's argument is without merit. The government cites no authority supporting the proposition that a defendant's decision to seek credit for time served in one case necessitates waiver of potentially valid arguments regarding the district court's jurisdiction in a separate case. As stated previously, "[j]urisdiction may not be waived, and federal appellate courts have a special obligation to consider not only their own jurisdiction, but also that of the lower courts." In re Berman-Smith, 737 F.3d at 1000.