Opinion ID: 2714
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mizrahi's Immigration Proceedings

Text: Sometime after this conviction, Mizrahi traveled to Israel. Upon his return to the United States, federal immigration authorities at John F. Kennedy International Airport advised Mizrahi that he was ineligible for admission. On March 14, 2003, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) [1] initiated formal removal proceedings on the ground that Mizrahi's state solicitation conviction rendered him inadmissible pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). Mizrahi moved to terminate the proceedings, arguing that the statute underlying his conviction, N.Y. Penal Law § 100.05(1), did not qualify as a law . . . relating to a controlled substance, under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). Alternatively, he applied for a discretionary waiver of inadmissibility pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h). On December 12, 2003, Immigration Judge (IJ) Patricia A. Rohan denied Mizrahi's motion and ordered his removal. The IJ concluded that Mizrahi's first argument was foreclosed by the BIA's precedential decision Matter of Beltran, 20 I. & N. Dec. 521 (BIA 1992) (upholding deportation of alien convicted under generic Arizona solicitation statute for soliciting drug possession), and that he was ineligible for § 1182(h) relief. Mizrahi appealed to the BIA, which, in an unpublished order, approved the IJ's reliance on Beltran and affirmed the order of removal. Mizrahi then timely petitioned for review by this court. His petition challenges only his inadmissibility pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II).