From the day he launched his presidential run, Donald Trump has been vocal about the dangers that criminals pose. But as the number of his associates convicted of federal crimes grows, a vivid double-standard appears. If migrants commit crimes, it is an existential threat to the nation. If his friends do, it is irrelevant or unjust. When Iowa police announced that a migrant led them to the body of college student Mollie Tibbetts, it took the White House less than a day to tweet a slick video tying migrants to crime. The same day, President Trump distributed his own video: “We have [...]
BIA: Obstruction of justice aggravated felony requires intentional attempt to interfere with investigation
The BIA held the obstruction of justice type of aggravated felony requires that the noncitizen have made an affirmative, intentional attempt to specifically interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation or trial. Matter of Valenzuela Gallardo, 25 I&N Dec. 838, 841 (BIA 2012) (Grant, Malphrus, and Mullane, Board members). Board Member Grant wrote the panel’s decision. This case involved an LPR who was convicted of accessory to a felony, Cal. Penal Code § 32, and sentenced to 16 months imprisonment. DHS alleged that this conviction fell within the “obstruction of justice…for which the [...]