In an EOIR Newsletter, an article describes the difference in immigration consequences between a conviction vacated on a ground of legal invalidity, and one expunged solely for purposes of rehabilitation or to avoid immigration consequences:
The expungement of a record of conviction is [t]he removal of a conviction (esp. for a first offense) from a persons criminal record. Blacks Law Dictionary 621 (8th ed. 2004). A vacatur is [t]he act of annulling or setting aside [or a] rule or order by which a proceeding is vacated. Id. at 1546.
Hernandez-Gonzalez v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, ___, 2015 WL 618776 (9th Cir. Feb.
Hernandez-Gonzalez v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 618776 (9th Cir. Feb. 13, 2015) (California conviction for a violation of Penal Code 12020(a)(1) for possession of a billy club, does not constitute a crime involving moral turpitude).
Navarro"Lopez v. Gonzales, 503 F.3d 1063, 1072 (9th Cir. 2007) (en banc) (No court has ever found possession of a weapon to be a crime involving moral turpitude.), overruled on other grounds by United States v. Aguila"Montes de Oca, 655 F.3d 915 (9th Cir. 2011) (en banc), abrogated by Descamps v. United States, 133 S.Ct. 2276 (2013); Matter of Serna, 20 I. & N. Dec.
United States v. Burgos-Ortega, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 468186 (9th Cir. Feb. 5, 2015) (Washington conviction for delivery of heroin, in violation of Revised Code of Washington 69.50.401(a)(1)(i) [manufacture, deliver, or possess with intent to manufacture or deliver, a controlled substance.], was categorically a felony drug trafficking offense for illegal reentry sentencing purposes, rejecting an argument that conduct that falls under deliver in the state statute is broader than distribute in 21 U.S.C.
Medina-Rosales v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, ___, 2015 WL 756345 (10th Cir. Feb. 24, 2015) (where the immigrant and counsel are located in a circuit different from that in which the immigration judge conducts the hearing, the governing law is that of the circuit in which the immigration judge is located: The charging document establishes the hearing location, regardless of the location of the IJ and the holding of a video conference hearing.).
Medina-Rosales v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 756345 (10th Cir. Feb. 24, 2015) (the aggravated felony bar to eligibility for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA 212(h), applies only to those persons with an aggravated felony conviction who became LPRs at the time that they lawfully entered the United States); but see Matter of Koljenovic, 25 I&N Dec. 219 (2010).
Luna-Garcia v. Holder, __ F.3d __ (10th Cir. Feb. 10, 2015) (if a noncitizen seeks reasonable fear proceedings following reinstatement of a prior order of removal, the reinstated order is not final until the reasonable fear proceedings are complete).
Matter of Chairez, 26 I&N Dec. 478 (BIA 2015) (Chairez II) (Chairez Is interpretation of the divisibility standard used in the modified categorical analysis " adopting the Supreme Courts view in Descamps v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2276 (2013), will only apply in circuits that have not explained how they understand divisibility after Descamps was decided; therefore, the test for when a statute is divisible will have to be litigated on a circuit-by-circuit basis); clarifying Matter of Chairez, 26 I&N Dec.
Flores v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 795212 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2015) (BIA abused discretion in denying motion to continue by failing to consider factors articulated in Matter of Hashmi: neither the IJ nor the BIA assessed whether Flores's wife's I"130 Petition was prima facie approvable, but instead considered the petition had actually been approved); citing Matter of Hashmi, 24 I. & N. Dec.