Opinion ID: 202431
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Henry's petition

Text: 4 Henry is a Jamaican national who was admitted to the United States as a permanent resident in 1984. In 2001, he pleaded guilty in Massachusetts state court to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, § 32C(a), a misdemeanor under Massachusetts law. Two years later, Henry traveled abroad and was denied re-admission upon his return to the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)charged Henry with being removable because of his 2001 drug conviction. See INA § 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) (declaring inadmissible any alien convicted of violating a law relating to a controlled substance); INA § 212(a)(2)(C), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(C)(i) (declaring inadmissible any alien the Attorney General knows or has reason to believe . . . is or has been an illicit trafficker in any controlled substance). 5 At a hearing before an immigration judge, Henry admitted the factual allegations charged by DHS and conceded removability on the ground that he had violated a law relating to controlled substances. He denied, however, that he was removable as an illicit trafficker in controlled substances. He also filed an application for cancellation of removal, arguing that his removal would result in exceptional hardship to his family living in the United States, who were all either citizens or lawful permanent residents. See INA § 240A(a), 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a)(3). The immigration judge found Henry removable as charged. Although the judge deemed Henry eligible for cancellation of removal, she denied Henry's application as a matter of discretion. Both Henry and DHS appealed to the Board. 6 DHS challenged the immigration judge's legal conclusion that Henry was eligible for cancellation of removal. According to DHS, Henry was ineligible for such relief because he had been convicted of an aggravated felony. See id. (providing the Attorney General with discretion to cancel the removal of any alien who has not been convicted of any aggravated felony); id. § 1101(a)(43)(B) (defining aggravated felony). 7 The Board sustained DHS's appeal. It observed that, under this court's precedent, a state drug offense qualifies as an aggravated felony if it is punishable under one of the federal drug enforcement statutes, including the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), and is a felony. See Amaral v. INS, 977 F.2d 33, 35 (1st Cir. 1992). The Board found that possession of marijuana with intent to distribute is punishable under the CSA by a maximum of five years' imprisonment, see 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(D), and would be classified as a felony under federal law, see 18 U.S.C. § 3559(a) (any offense punishable by more than one year in prison is a felony). Because Henry's Massachusetts offense would have been punishable as a felony under federal law, the Board concluded that it was an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B). The Board therefore found Henry ineligible for cancellation of removal and ordered him removed to Jamaica.