Mandujano-Real v. Mukasey, 526 F.3d 585 (9th Cir. May 22, 2008) ("The Government does not argue, nor could it, that the IJ's reliance on Mandujano-Real's concession would suffice as a basis for removal if the BIA or the court were to determine that his conviction does not, as a matter of law, constitute an aggravated felony."), following Garcia-Lopez v. Ashcroft, 334 F.3d 840, 844 n.4 (9th Cir. 2003) (explaining that an alien's "belief about the nature of his offense is irrelevant to the purely legal question of how the offense was categorized....

Mandujano-Real v. Mukasey, 526 F.3d 585 (9th Cir. May 22, 2008) ("The only question before us is, therefore, whether as a matter of law Mandujano-Real's identity theft conviction constitutes an aggravated felony theft offense. The answer to this question lies in the interpretation of an Oregon criminal statute: this is a matter that is not committed to the BIA's expertise. Accordingly, we owe no deference to the BIA's resolution of this question on appeal."), citing Fernandez-Ruiz v. Gonzales, 466 F.3d 1121, 1133 (9th Cir.

Sandoval-Luna v. Mukasey, 526 F.3d 1243 (9th Cir. May 22, 2008) (circuit court has jurisdiction to review an IJ's decision to deny petitioner's motion for a continuance for abuse of discretion, due process and equal protection violations).

Matter of Velazquez-Herrera, 24 I. & N. Dec. 503, ___ (BIA May 20, 2008) ("Furthermore, when Congress enacted section 350(a) of the IIRIRA in 1996, different variations of the "categorical" approach had been applied in immigration proceedings for more than 80 years, and we must presume that Congress was familiar with that fact when it made deportability under section 237(a)(2)(E)(i) depend on a "conviction." Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U.S. 575, 580-81 (1978). Had Congress wished to predicate deportability on an alien's actual conduct, it would have been a simple enough matter to have done so.

Cf. Matter of Velazquez-Herrera, 24 I. & N. Dec. 503, ___ (BIA May 20, 2008) ("Furthermore, when Congress enacted section 350(a) of the IIRIRA in 1996, different variations of the "categorical" approach had been applied in immigration proceedings for more than 80 years, and we must presume that Congress was familiar with that fact when it made deportability under section 237(a)(2)(E)(i) depend on a "conviction." Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U.S. 575, 580-81 (1978). Had Congress wished to predicate deportability on an alien's actual conduct, it would have been a simple enough matter to have done so.

Channer v. DHS Secretary, 527 F.3d 275 (2d Cir. May 30, 2008) (res judicata does not bar DHS from relitigating removal based on a claim which could have been raised in his previous removal proceeding where second removal proceeding did not involve the same claim or nucleus of operative fact as the first).

United States v. Chavarria-Brito, 526 F.3d 1184 (8th Cir. May 29, 2008) ("The mere fact that a state labels a crime as forgery does not control whether his crime is actually related to forgery [under federal law]."), citing Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 590-591, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990).

Arca-Pineda v. Att'y Gen., 527 F.3d 101 (3d Cir. May 28, 2008) (retroactive application of the stop-time rule did not violate due process).

Arca-Pineda v. Att'y Gen., 527 F.3d 101 (3d Cir. May 28, 2008) (respondent cannot re-start clock by failing to appear for removal proceeding and then waiting an additional 10 years).

Arca-Pineda v. Att'y Gen., 527 F.3d 101 (3d Cir. May 28, 2008) (continuous physical presence clock did not begin to run again after an administrative closure; administrative closure is not a termination proceedings; it only removes the case from the IJs calendar).