Interim Decision #2196 

MATTER OF ACOSTA 

In Deportation Proceedings 

A-10731904 

Decided by Board April 19, 1973 

Conviction of the offense of making a false statement in the acquisition of a 

firearm from a licensed dealer in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(6) is conviction of 

a crime involving moral turpitude. 

CHARGE: 

Order: Act of 1952—Section 241(a)(4) [8 U.S.C. 1251(aX4)]—Convicted of two 

crimes involving moral turpitude, to wit: (1) transporting a forged and altered security in foreign commerce 

and (2) making a fake statement in the negnieition of a 

firearm from a licensed dealer. 

ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT: Joseph J. Rey, Esquire 

453 Magoffin Avenue 

El Paso, Texas 

(Brief filed) 

The special inquiry officer, in an order dated October 16, 1972, 

found the respondent deportable as charged and ineligible for any 

discretionary relief. The respondent appeals from that order. The 

appeal will be dismissed. 

The respondent is a 37-year-old married male, a native and 

citizen of Mexico, who entered the United States on February 12, 

1960 as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. He 

was charged with deportability under the second portion of section 

241(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That section 

makes deportable any alien who "at any time after entry is 

convicted of two crimes involving moral turpitude, not arising out 

of a single scheme of criminal misconduct." The file contains the 

record of two convictions. 

The first, on October 29, 1970, was for transportation of a forged 

and altered security in foreign commerce in violation of the third 

paragraph of 18 U.S.C. 2314. We find that this offense involved 

moral turpitude. See Matter of Fernandez, Interim Decision No. 

2123 (131A, 1072), also dealing with 18 U.S.C. 2314 (transportation 

in interstate commerce of forged securities). 

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Interim Decision #2196 

The second conviction occurred on February 10, 1972 and was 

for the offense of making a false statement in the acquisition of a 

firearm from a licensed dealer in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(aX6). 

That section makes it a crime for any person "... knowingly to 

make any false or fictitious statement ... intended or likely to 

deceive such ... dealer ... with respect to any fact material to the 

lawfulness of the sale. ..." The respondent was convicted because 

he did not mention his first conviction, which would have disqualified him as a firearms buyer under 18 U.S.C. 922(dX1). 

Moral turpitude is present in connection with the respondent's 

second conviction because fraud and materiality are essential 

elements of the crime. See Fiswick v. United States, 329 U.S. 211 

(1946) (concealing membership in Nazi Party under Alien Registration Act of 1940); U.S. ex rel. Popoff v. Reinter, 79 F2d 513 (C.A. 

2, 1935) (knowingly submitting false information in an application 

for naturalization); Matter of B—, 7 L & N. Dec. 342 (BIA, 1956) 

(wilfully and knowingly making false statements in an application 

for a passport). 

The special inquiry officer was correct, then, in finding that the 

respondent had boon convicted of two crimes involving moral 

turpitude. There is no contention that these crimes arose out of a 

common scheme of criminal misconduct. We, therefore, affirm the 

special inquiry officer's finding of deportability under section 

241(aX4) of the Act. The appeal will be dismissed and the following 

order will be entered. 

ORDER: The appeal is dismissed 

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