United States v. Dennis Hernandez

── United States v. Dennis Hernandez ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: April 16, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 24-4665 Doc: 58 Filed: 04/16/2026 Pg: 1 of 30 PUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 24-4665 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. DENNIS ZELEDON HERNANDEZ, Defendant – Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Roderick Charles Young, District Judge. (3:23-cr-00122-RCY-1) Argued: January 30, 2026 Decided: April 16, 2026 Before WILKINSON, GREGORY, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges. Reversed, vacated, and remanded by published opinion. Judge Gregory wrote the opinion, in which Judge Quattlebaum joined. Judge Wilkinson wrote a dissenting opinion. ARGUED: Isabel Maria Marin, GOODWIN PROCTER LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Robert Sunderland Day, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Geremy C. Kamens, Federal Public Defender, Patrick L. Bryant, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Joseph S. Camden, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Alexandria, Virginia; Brian T. Burgess, Washington, D.C., Jonathan E. Rankin, GOODWIN PROCTER LLP, Boston, Massachusetts, for Appellant. Erik S. Siebert, United States Attorney, Robert S. Day, Assistant United States Attorney, Daniel J. Honold, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. USCA4 Appeal: 24-4665 Doc: 58 Filed: 04/16/2026 Pg: 2 of 30 GREGORY, Circuit Judge: Dennis Zeledon Hernandez (“Zeledon”), a noncitizen, was the subject of an order of removal issued by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) in 2019. 1 However, a warrant for his removal was not issued by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) until 2023, when he was arrested on unrelated charges. Soon after DHS issued the warrant of removal, Zeledon was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) custody. He escaped soon after. Upon being recaptured, he was indicted for obstructing immigration proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 1505, which makes it a criminal offense to obstruct a “pending proceeding . . . being had before [a] department or agency of the United States.” 18 U.S.C. § 1505. The Government argued that he had obstructed two pending proceedings: the EOIR’s adjudication of his status, and ICE’s execution of a warrant of removal. The district court determined that Zeledon had obstructed a pending proceeding before EOIR when he escaped ICE custody. Zeledon appealed. On appeal, he argues that ICE’s execution of a warrant of removal after an EOIR final order has already been issued is not a “pending proceeding being had before” EOIR under 18 U.S.C. § 1505. We agree. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the determination of the district court, vacate Zeledon’s conviction, and remand for further proceedings. 1 The briefing submitted refers to Appellant as “Zeledon.” 2 USCA4 Appeal: 24-4665 Doc: 58 Filed: 04/16/2026 Pg: 3 of 30 I. In July 2016, Zeledon—who is from El Salvador—was crossing the southern border near Hidalgo, Texas when he encountered Border Patrol officials. At that time, he expressed a fear of returning to