United States v. Jesus Ramirez-Marquez

RILEY, Circuit Judge.

The Government appeals the district court’s sentencing decision to grant a downward departure to Jesus Ramirez-Marquez (Ramirez-Marquez) for not contesting deportation. For the reasons discussed below, we reverse the district court, vacate the sentence, and remand for resen-tencing consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

Ramirez-Marquez, an alien from Mexico, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine. At sentencing, the district court determined the applicable range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (Guidelines)…