Opinion ID: 2779061
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: A person who violates:

Text: ... 1 Section 13-1001 defines “attempt”; § 13-3401 defines various terms related to drug offenses, including “marijuana”; and §§ 13-701 and 13-801 prescribe prison sentences and fines for felonies. -2- 3. Subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section involving an amount of marijuana not possessed for sale having a weight of four pounds or more is guilty of a class 4 felony. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3405 (1999) (emphasis added). When, as a returning LPR, Mr. Diaz applied for re-admission into the United States in December 2007, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sought his removal as an alien who has been an illicit trafficker in any controlled substance. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(C). DHS subsequently added an additional charge that Mr. Diaz is an alien convicted of a violation of any law relating to a controlled substance. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). In support of these charges, DHS submitted the sentencing order and Mr. Diaz’s plea agreement in his Arizona criminal proceedings. Appearing before an immigration judge (IJ), Mr. Diaz denied that he was removable as charged and applied for cancellation of removal. After the IJ found him removable, he also filed an application for withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), in which he alleged that he faces harm from drug cartels in Mexico. He asserted that his work as a confidential informant for Arizona police from 1997 to 1999 resulted in the arrests of drug dealers who now reside in Mexico. The IJ denied Mr. Diaz’s applications for cancellation of removal, withholding of removal, and CAT protection. The IJ found that he had been convicted of an aggravated felony, making him ineligible for cancellation of removal. And because -3- he failed to rebut the presumption that his conviction was for a particularly serious crime, Mr. Diaz was also ineligible for withholding of removal and CAT relief. The IJ further held that he failed to meet his burden of proof for deferral of removal under CAT. Mr. Diaz appealed to the BIA, arguing that his Arizona conviction is not an aggravated felony because (1) he was not sentenced to imprisonment and (2) he was convicted only of attempted possession of marijuana. The BIA agreed with the IJ’s reasoning and holdings and dismissed his appeal in a decision by a single Board member. After Mr. Diaz filed a petition for review in this court, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Moncrieffe v. Holder, 133 S. Ct. 1678 (2013), in which it clarified which marijuana-distribution crimes qualify as aggravated felonies. We granted the Attorney General’s unopposed motion to remand the proceedings to the BIA to reconsider whether Mr. Diaz’s conviction is an aggravated felony in light of Moncrieffe. On remand to the BIA, Mr. Diaz argued, inter alia, that his conviction is not an aggravated felony because the minimum conduct required for a conviction pursuant to his statute of conviction does not meet the definitions of illicit trafficking or drug trafficking. In a three-member panel decision, the BIA once again dismissed Mr. Diaz’s appeal, holding that, according to the record, he was convicted of attempted possession of marijuana for sale. It rejected his claim that his record of conviction was unclear on that point. -4-