Mexican national with multiple deportations, DUI convictions loses appeal

South Dakota judge imposed sentence beyond what defense, prosecutors sought

A federal appeals court has upheld a prison sentence imposed against a chronic drunk driver who had repeatedly been deported because he was in the country illegally.

Rodrigo Bernabe-Reynoso appealed the 24-month prison sentence imposed by Federal District Court Judge Charles Kornmann last August. Bernabe-Reynoso had sought immediate release because he had already served six months in jail after being arrested in February for driving drunk in Codington County.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency placed a detainer on Bernabe-Reynoso following his arrest, and during his sentencing, the public defender representing him told Kornmann that Bernabe-Reynoso wanted to get in front of a federal immigration judge in order to assert an asylum claim.

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