United States v. Venegas-Vasquez

Emmanuel Venegas-Vasquez (defendant) was a citizen of Mexico who unlawfully entered the United States as a child. Venegas-Vasquez did not apply for citizenship or residence. Venegas-Vasquez applied to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. USCIS granted Venegas-Vasquez DACA and renewed it years later. USCIS provided Venegas-Vasquez with an employment-authorization card allowing him to work in the United States, and the Social Security Administration issued him a Social Security number. USCIS authorized Venegas-Vasquez for parole back in the country after he received permission to travel to Mexico for a family visit. Police were called to Venegas-Vasquez’s residence after reports of gunfire, and Venegas-Vasquez was taken into custody. Police found a loaded handgun and assault rife in Venegas-Vasquez’s truck. Venegas-Vasquez was indicted by a federal grand jury for one count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5), which prohibited an individual illegally or unlawfully in the United States from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Venegas-Vasquez filed a motion to dismiss for failure to allege an element of the offense, claiming that he was not illegally or unlawfully in the United States. The district court addressed the meaning of the statute’s illegal-and-unlawful qualifier.