The Board of Immigration Appeals held that a statutory rape offense must include, as an element, a meaningful age difference between the abuser and victim in order to be classified as sexual abuse of a minor, a type of aggravated felony. Matter of Esquivel-Quintana, 26 I&N Dec. 469 (BIA 2015). Board Member Malphrus wrote the panel’s opinion. This case involved an LPR convicted of unlawful intercourse with a minor more than three years younger, a violation of Cal. Penal Code § 261.5(c). An IJ concluded that this offense constituted sexual abuse of a minor under INA § 101(a)(43)(A). On [...]
BIA: Adjustment is admission for removal; refines what constitutes “element” of offense
The Board of Immigration Appeals did a lot in a short ten-page decision: held that adjustment of status constitutes an admission when determining removal, providing some clarity on when a sentencing enhancement constitutes an “offense,” and ultimately held that the military’s version of sodomy by force is a crime of violence type of aggravated felony. Matter of Chavez-Alvarez, 26 I&N Dec. 274 (BIA 2014) (Pauley, Guendelsberger, and Malphrus, Board members). Board member Pauley wrote the panel’s decision. This case involved a member of the U.S. Army convicted of sodomy by force in [...]