Capsule updates to CMT book

RELIEF " WAIVERS " INA 212(h) " AGGRAVATED FELONY BAR

Flores v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 795212 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2015) (noncitizen convicted of aggravated felony not barred from 212(h) relief, since he had not previously been admitted at a lawful permanent resident), following Matter of Michel, 21 I. & N. Dec. 1101, 1104 (BIA 1998) (Section 212(h) of the Act, while specifically precluding waiver eligibility for a lawful permanent resident who has been convicted of an aggravated felony, imposes no such restriction on one who has not been admitted previously as a lawful permanent resident.).

CONVICTION " CATEGORICAL ANALYSIS " DIVISIBLE STATUTE

Flores v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 795212 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2015) (rejecting government argument that the agency is not bound to follow Descamps on the basis that the case arose in the sentencing context; the BIA is bound to apply divisibility consistently with the individual circuits' interpretation of divisibility under Descamps.); following In re Chairez"Castrejon, 26 I. & N. Dec. 349, 354 (BIA 2014); accord, Kaufmann v. Holder, 759 F.3d 6, 8"9 (1st Cir.2014); Aguilar"Turcios v. Holder, 740 F.3d 1294, 1301"02 (9th Cir.2014); Donawa v. U.S. Attorney Gen., 735 F.3d 1275, 1280 n.

CONVICTION " MODIFIED CATEGORICAL ANALYSIS " FACTS VS ELEMENTS

Flores v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, ___, 2015 WL 795212 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2015) (BIA
erred by consulting the record of conviction to determine that Flores's underlying conduct"the touching of his hand to the genital area of th[e] victim"satisfied the generic definition of sexual abuse of a minor under 18 U.S.C. 3509(a). . . . The agency was instead required to consider whether the minimum conduct necessary to violate N.Y. Penal Law 130.65(3) was encompassed within 18 U.S.C. 3509(a)'s definition of sexual abuse.); see Ming Lam Sui v. INS, 250 F.3d 105, 117"18 (2d Cir.

JUDICIAL REVIEW " PETITION FOR REVIEW " FAILURE ADEQUATELY TO EXPLAIN REASONING OR TO CONSIDER RECORD EVIDENCE

Pan v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 304199 (2d Cir. Jan. 26, 2015) (granting petition for review of Immigration Judges denial of applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief pursuant to the Convention Against Torture, where the IJ and BIA failed to adequately explain why the significant violence petitioner suffered was insufficiently egregious to constitute persecution; and failed to consider record evidence, which tended to prove that the Kyrgyz police and unwilling or unable to protect petitioner from private persecutors).

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE " INADMISSIBILITY " PETTY OFFENSE EXCEPTION " NOT DISCRETIONARY

Cervantes v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2014 WL 6463031 (9th Cir. Nov. 19, 2014) (the petty offense exception to inadmissibility, under INA 212(a)(2)(A)(ii), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii), based on a crime of moral turpitude, is mandatory and does not have any discretionary component); accord, Matter of Salvail, 17 I. & N. Dec. 19, 21 (BIA 1979) (explaining that the relief afforded by the petty offense exception is mandatory).

JUDICIAL REVIEW " LIMITATION TO ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD

Fisher v. INS, 79 F.3d 955, 963 (9th Cir. 1996) (en banc) (review is generally limited to the information in the administrative record: court is statutorily prevented from taking judicial notice of the Country Report that petitioner did not submit to the BIA).

The court stated: We may review out-of-record evidence only where (1) the Board considers the evidence; or (2) the Board abuses its discretion by failing to consider such evidence upon the motion of an applicant. Id. at 964; see also Altawil v. INS, 179 F.3d 791, 792 (9th Cir.

JUDICIAL REVIEW " JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE NOTICE OF AGENCY RECORDS

Lising v. INS, 124 F.3d 996, 998-99 (9th Cir. 1997) (court is not precluded from taking judicial notice of an agencys own records; affirming taking judicial notice of application for naturalization); Gafoor v. INS, 231 F.3d 645, 655-57 (9th Cir. 2000) (court may take judicial notice of dramatic foreign developments that occur after the BIAs determination: taking judicial notice of Fijian coup which occurred after the BIAs decision), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated by Parussimova v. Mukasey, 555 F.3d 734 (9th Cir. 2009); Singh v. Ashcroft, 393 F.3d 903, 905-07 (9th Cir.

IMMIGRATION OFFENSES " ILLEGAL REENTRY " COLLATERAL ATTACK " EXPEDITED REMOVAL

United States v. Raya-Vaca, ___ F.3d ___, 2014 WL 5802287 (9th Cir. Nov. 10, 2014) (expedited administrative removal order under INA 235 violated due process where immigration officer failed to comply with 8 C.F.R. 235.3(b)(2)(i), and no prejudice need be shown).

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE " UNAUTHORIZED DRIVING A VEHICLE " NOT A DIVISIBLE STATUTE

Almanza-Arenas v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Nov.

CONVICTION " NATURE OF CONVICTION " MODIFIED CATEGORICAL ANALYSIS OF A DIVISIBLE STATUTE

Almanza-Arenas v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, ___ (9th Cir. Nov. 10, 2014) (Where the petitioner was convicted under a divisible statute, we apply the modified categorical approach to determine which alternative element in a divisible statute formed the basis of the defendants conviction. Descamps, 133 S. Ct. at 2293. This inquiry is legal, not factual, because the [Immigration and Nationality Act] asks what offense the noncitizen was convicted of, . . . not what acts he committed. Moncrieffe v. Holder, 133 S. Ct. 1678, 1685 (2013) (internal citations omitted).).

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