
    UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Cesar PALACIOS-LIZARRAGA, Defendant-Appellant.
    No. 00-50209.
    D.C. No. CR-99-00018-RJT.
    United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
    Submitted April 9, 2001.
    
    Decided April 19, 2001.
    Before CANBY, KOZINSKI, and RYMER, Circuit Judges.
    
      
      . The panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2).
    
   MEMORANDUM

Cesar Palacios-Lizarraga appeals his 77-month sentence imposed following a guilty plea conviction for being an illegal alien found in the United States following deportation. Palacios-Lizarraga contends that in light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), it is illegal to impose a sentence in excess of the two-year maximum set forth in 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) based upon a prior felony to which he did not admit, and which was not submitted to a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Palacios-Lizarraga also contends that Apprendi renders inapplicable Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998) (holding that 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2) is a sentencing factor and not a separate offense), because Palacios-Lizarraga did not admit to an aggravated felony, and it was not proven to a jury. These arguments are foreclosed by United States v. Pacheco-Zepeda, 234 F.3d 411 (9th Cir.2000), amended (Feb. 8, 2001) (order). United States v. Castillo-Rivera, 244 F.3d 1020, 1024 (9th Cir.2001).

AFFIRMED. 
      
      . This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as may be provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
     