United States v. Flores (2013)

Lorenzo Flores-Alejo (Flores) (defendant), an illegal immigrant deported three times, reentered the United States a fourth time and was imprisoned in Texas on a DWI conviction. The government prosecuted him for being unlawfully 'found in' the United States after deportation, and the trial judge enhanced his sentence under a guideline applying to defendants found in the country 'while under a criminal justice sentence,' referring to his DWI imprisonment. Flores argued that being imprisoned for the DWI was itself involuntary, so enhancing his sentence based on his consequent presence in the country while imprisoned punished him for an involuntary act, violating the Fifth and Eighth Amendments.