Opinion ID: 769810
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 6 Prior to the passage of the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Pub. L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996), most orders of deportation were subject to direct judicial review in the circuit courts of appeals under INA S 106(a), 8 U.S.C.S 1105(a)(1) (1995). IIRIRA repealed section 106 of the INA, see IIRIRA S 306(b), and replaced it with a substantially restricted scheme, now codified at 8 U.S.C. S 1252 et seq. The effective date of most of these new provisions is April 1, 1997. See IIRIRA S 309(a). 7 Section 309(c)(1) of IIRIRA exempts from the new judicial review provisions those aliens whose exclusion or deportation proceedings commenced before April 1, 1997. For these individuals, judicial review is still conducted under section 106(a) of the INA. See IIRIRA S 309(c)(1). 8 Section 309(c)(4), however, contains various exceptions to section 309(c)(1). These exceptions, collectively known as transitional rules, apply to cases which were commenced before April 1, 1997, and in which a final order of deportation was filed after October 30, 1996. See IIRIRAS 309(c)(4); Kalaw v. INS, 133 F.3d 1147, 1150 (9th Cir. 1997) (As to cases in which a final deportation or exclusion order was filed after October 30, 1996, and which were pending before April 1, 1997, IIRIRA's transitional rules apply.). The INS initiated deportation proceedings against Albillo on December 13, 1996, when itserved him with an Order to Show Cause. The BIA entered a final order of deportation against Albillo on September 24, 1998. The case is therefore governed by IIRIRA's transitional rules. 9 The applicable transitional rule is section 309(c)(4)(G) of IIRIRA, which states in pertinent part: 10 there shall be no appeal permitted in the case of an alien who is inadmissible or deportable by reason of having committed a criminal offense covered in section . . . 241(a)(2)(A)(iii) . . . of the Immigration and Nationality Act . . . . 11 Section 241(a)(2)(A)(iii) of the INA states that[a]ny alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after entry is deportable. 8 U.S.C. S 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). An aggravated felony, in turn, is defined in part in INA S 101(a)(43)(R) as an offense relating to . . . counterfeiting . . . . 8 U.S.C. S 1101(a)(43)(R). 12 Notwithstanding section 309(c)(4)(G) of IIRIRA, we retain jurisdiction to determine if jurisdiction exists. See AragonAyon v. INS, 206 F.3d 847, 849 (9th Cir. 2000). As the above statutory explanation indicates, the jurisdictional question collapses into the substantive analysis: If a conviction under 18 U.S.C. S 472 is an aggravated felony for the purposes of INA S 101(a)(43)(R), then section 309(c)(4)(G) of IIRIRA prevents us from exercising jurisdiction over Albillo's petition. Conversely, if the conviction is not an aggravated felony, not only do we have jurisdiction over the appeal, but Albillo's deportation order must be reversed.