Case: 21-40790 Document: 00516641330 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/10/2023 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED February 10, 2023 No. 21-40790 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Rolando Jasso, Defendant—Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 2:20-CR-1143-1 Before Stewart, Dennis, and Southwick, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Rolando Jasso appeals from his conviction for illegal reentry after removal. To prove Jasso was a native and citizen of Mexico, the Government offered into evidence a Mexican birth certificate issued seven years after Jasso’s birth. The district court admitted the certificate over objection. The jury found Jasso guilty. We AFFIRM. * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 21-40790 Document: 00516641330 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/10/2023 No. 21-40790 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Rolando Jasso was charged in a one-count indictment with illegal reentry after removal, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b). The complaint and indictment alleged Jasso was a native and citizen of Mexico, had been removed from the United States in 1999, and had been found in Texas without proper documentation in 2020. The Government’s evidence included Jasso’s Mexican birth certificate that was part of his alien file (“A- file”). Jasso, though, contended he was born in 1971 in Los Arrieros, Texas, near the Mexican border. Jasso filed a motion in limine seeking to bar the introduction of the Mexican birth certificate and a certified English translation. 1 He objected to the authenticity of the document and contended the birth certificate was inadmissible hearsay. At a pretrial conference, his counsel relied on the fact that Jasso’s birth was not registered contemporaneously. Jasso’s father allegedly obtained the birth certificate in 1978 while the family prepared to relocate to the United States, as his father believed it would be easier to obtain a birth certificate in Mexico rather than in Jasso’s alleged birthplace in Texas. Counsel argued the birth certificate was inadmissible hearsay and inherently unreliable because it was not prepared on or near Jasso’s 1971 birthdate. The Government argued the birth certificate was admissible under hearsay exceptions as an ancient document, a public record, or a record of vital statistics. See FED. R. EVID. 803(16), 803(8), 803(9). The district court admitted the birth certificate pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 803(9) as a public record of vital statistics. 1 We will refer to the two documents collectively. 2 Case: 21-40790 Document: 00516641330 Page: 3 Date Filed: 02/10/2023 No. 21-40790 At trial, the Government introduced evidence to show Jasso had no legal status in the United States when he was apprehended in October 2020. The Government introduced the Mexican birth certificate as well as several statements by Jasso saying he was born in Mexico and was a Mexican citizen. The Government argued in its rebuttal that Jasso had made numerous inconsistent statements about his birthplace and citizenship to authorities and used false …
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