Opinion ID: 2996240
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Aggravated Felonies

Text: Section 1252(a)(2)(C) of Title 8 of the U.S. Code provides that “no court shall have jurisdiction to review any final order of removal against an alien who is removable by reason of having committed” certain of those criminal offenses classified as “aggravated felonies.” Nevertheless, this Court has frequently held that this provision does not preclude us from determining whether the alien in question was convicted of a criminal offense that justifies deportation. See, e.g., Bosede v. Ashcroft, 309 F.3d 441, 445 (7th Cir. 2002); Guerrero-Perez v. INS, 242 F.3d 727, 730 (7th Cir. 2001); Sandoval v. INS, 240 F.3d 577, 580 (7th Cir. 2001); Wedderburn v. INS, 215 F.3d 795, 797 (7th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 904 (Mar. 5, 2001); Xiong v. INS, 173 F.3d 601, 604 (7th Cir. 1999) (noting that when judicial review hinges on a particular fact or legal conclusion, then a court may determine whether that condition exists). 6 No. 02-1446 Gomez-Diaz argues that his convictions in 1979 (for burglary) and 1992 (for possession of narcotics with intent to deliver while armed) should not be considered “aggravated felonies.” He urges this Court not to apply retroactively the expanded definition of “aggravated felony” that resulted after the passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRIRA”). This Court has previously rejected this argument, pointing out that Congress clearly provided within the very text of the statute that the expanded definition of “aggravated felony” was to be applied retroactively. See Flores-Leon v. INS, 272 F.3d 433, 438-39 (7th Cir. 2001).