United States v. Rios Benitez, 20-10494

Oscar Daniel Rios Benitez was convicted and sentenced for illegal reentry following deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2), based on a prior Texas assault-family violence conviction the government treated as an "aggravated felony"/crime of violence (20-year statutory maximum).
On initial appeal the Fifth Circuit summarily affirmed, relying on United States v. Reyes-Contreras and United States v. Gracia-Cantu, which foreclosed his challenge.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated, and remanded the case for reconsideration in light of Borden v. United States.
On remand the government and Rios Benitez agreed that under Borden his Texas assault-family-violence conviction does not qualify as a crime of violence, so conviction/sentencing should have been under § 1326(b)(1) (10-year maximum).
The district court judgment did not show the 20-year maximum influenced the sentence; Rios Benitez has already served his term and requested no district-court hearing.
The Fifth Circuit vacated the district court’s judgment and remanded with instructions for the district court to reform the judgment to reflect conviction and sentencing under § 1326(b)(1).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the prior Texas assault-family-violence conviction qualifies as a "crime of violence" for §1326(b)(2)	Govt initially: Reyes-Contreras/Gracia-Cantu foreclose challenge; conviction qualifies	Rios: After Borden the conviction is not a categorical crime of violence	Court: Agreed with parties—under Borden the conviction does not qualify
Which statutory subsection applies (§1326(b)(2) v. §1326(b)(1))	Govt (on remand): §1326(b)(1) applies; should be 10-year max	Rios: Should be convicted/sentenced under §1326(b)(1)	Court: Convert conviction/sentence to §1326(b)(1)
Remedy—whether appellate court should reform judgment or remand for district court to reform	Govt and Rios: prefer reformation to §1326(b)(1); no hearing requested	Rios: no hearing; reformation appropriate	Court: Vacated and remanded, instructing district court to reform its judgment (exercise of discretion)
Whether the 20-year maximum affected the district court’s sentencing such that resentencing is required	Govt/Rios: no record the 20-year max influenced sentence	Rios: already served term; no resentencing requested	Court: No evidence of influence; court did not order resentencing and directed reformation instead

United States v. Reyes-Contreras, 910 F.3d 169 (5th Cir. 2018) (en banc) (Fifth Circuit precedent previously treating similar convictions as violent felonies)
United States v. Gracia-Cantu, 920 F.3d 252 (5th Cir. 2019) (applied Reyes-Contreras to uphold §1326(b)(2) exposure)
Borden v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1817 (2021) (Supreme Court narrowed the definition of "crime of violence," prompting vacatur and remand)