Matter of Lanferman, 25 I. & N. Dec. 721 (BIA Mar. 9, 2012) (a criminal statute is divisible, regardless of its structure, if, based on the elements of the offense, some but not all violations of the statute give rise to grounds for removal or ineligibility for relief: [W]e have traditionally applied divisibility analysis to all manner of statutes, regardless of their structure. . Adopting the broadest approach[] is also consistent with the view we share with some courts of appeals that the categorical approach itself need not be applied with the same rigor in the immigration context as in the criminal arena, where it was developed.).

Note: This decision essentially adopts the reasoning of United States v. Aguila"Montes de Oca, 655 F.3d 915 (9th Cir.2011) (en banc), nation-wide. In addition, it suggests that the categorical analysis in the immigration context is different from the categorical analysis in the criminal context, and thus the BIA gets Brand-X deference. These two aspects of the decision should be challenged wherever possible, as they fly in the face of many years of consistent application of the strict categorical analysis. For example, the BIA had previously held:

We note that the statute under which the respondent was convicted is divisible, meaning it encompasses offenses that include as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, as well as offenses that do not.

Where a statute under which an alien was convicted is divisible, we look to the record of conviction, and to other documents admissible as evidence in proving a criminal conviction, to determine whether the specific offense of which the alien was convicted will sustain a ground of deportability under section 241(a) (2) (A) (iii) of the Act. This approach does not involve an inquiry into facts previously presented and tried. Instead the focus is on the elements required to sustain the conviction.

(Matter of Sweetser, 22 I. & N. Dec. 709 (BIA 1999).

And, in another case:

In accordance with this longstanding body of circuit precedent, we have from our earliest days espoused the same principle, resulting in an analytical approach that is essentially identical to the `categorical approach' adopted by the Supreme Court in both the sentencing and immigration contexts.

(Matter of Velazquez Herrera, 24 I. & N. Dec. 503 (BIA May 20, 2008).

The BIA in Lanferman did not explain or justify its changes in analysis from the categorical analysis consistently applied before.
Thanks to Jonathan Moore.

 

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