Govind Tekale
On October 13, 2026, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Herrera-Salazar v. United States, No. 25-6989, from the Tenth Circuit, No. 24-7029. Justice Sotomayor wrote a statement respecting the denial, joined by Justice Gorsuch.
In 2020, Herrera-Salazar was indicted under 8 USC 1326(a) for being found in the United States after removal. He pleaded guilty and completed his prison term. While on supervised release, he was expressly told not to leave the Eastern District of Oklahoma. He was stopped in Heavener and later arrested and indicted again under 1326(a). A jury convicted him and he received prison and supervised release terms. He has since been removed.
Justice Sotomayor wrote that the second conviction is difficult to reconcile with Fifth Amendment double-jeopardy protection because he was first convicted for being found in the country and then barred from leaving. She criticized the Tenth Circuit’s view that the prosecutions were separate because the unit of prosecution did not require separate reentry. She stated this approach could allow repeated charges based on continuous presence. The Court’s denial of certiorari is not a ruling on the merits.
