Opinion ID: 795806
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Retroactive Application of the Definition of Aggravated Felony

Text: 12 No alien may become a United States citizen unless he establishes the following, subject to certain exceptions not at issue: 13 (1) immediately preceding the date of filing his application for naturalization [he] has resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, within the United States for at least five years and during the five years immediately preceding the date of filing his application has been physically present therein for periods totaling at least half of that time, and . . . has resided within the State or within the district of the Service in the United States in which the applicant filed the application for at least three months, (2)[he] has resided continuously within the United States from the date of the application up to the time of admission to citizenship, and (3) during all the periods referred to in this subsection [he] has been and still is a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States. 14 8 U.S.C. § 1427(a). Title 8, section 1101(f)(8), precludes from establishing good moral character those who, during the period for which good moral character is required to be established, is, or was . . . one who at any time has been convicted of an aggravated felony. The term aggravated felony as used in section 1101(f)(8) is defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43). At the time of Chan's conviction, conspiracy to engage in alien smuggling was not an aggravated felony under the INA. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) (1994). The current definition of the term aggravated felony — which also was the version in effect when Chan filed his naturalization petition — includes: 15 [A]n offense described in paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of section 1324(a) of this title (relating to alien smuggling), except in the case of a first offense for which the alien has affirmatively shown that the alien committed the offense for the purpose of assisting, abetting, or aiding only the alien's spouse, child, or parent (and no other individual) to violate a provision of this chapter. 16 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(N). Additionally, section 1101(a)(43) provides that attempts and conspiracies to commit offenses constitute aggravated felonies if the underlying substantive offense is included within the statutory definition. 2 See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(U). Further, Congress in 1996 passed IIRIRA, which states that the current definition of aggravated felony is to be used regardless of whether the conviction for the offense included in the definition was entered before, on, or after the September 30, 1996 effective date of IIRIRA. See 8 U.S.C § 1101(a)(43). 17 Chan argues that (1) the new definition of aggravated felony cannot be applied to him because it did not exist when he was convicted; and (2) retroactive application of the new definition to him would violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution. Both arguments are entirely lacking in merit. First, the denial of citizenship is a civil proceeding, see Abela v. Gustafson, 888 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir.1989), to which the Ex Post Facto Clause does not apply, see Guaylupo-Moya v. Gonzales, 423 F.3d 121, 131-32 (2d Cir.2005) (holding that the application of IIRIRA's expansion of aggravated felony does not offend the Ex Post Facto Clause in deportation proceedings because they are civil in nature); Kuhali v. Reno, 266 F.3d 93, 111-12 (2d Cir.2001) (similar). Second, statutes may and should be retroactively applied when the statute at issue clearly indicates that it is intended to be retroactive. See Landgraf v. USI Film Products, 511 U.S. 244, 280, 114 S.Ct. 1483, 128 L.Ed.2d 229 (1994). Congress made clear its intent to apply the expanded definition of aggravated felony in the same statutory section that created the new definition. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) (stating that an offense is an aggravated felony if contained in the current version of section 1101(a)(43), regardless of whether the conviction was entered before, on, or after September 30, 1996); see also INS v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289, 318-19, 121 S.Ct. 2271, 150 L.Ed.2d 347 (2001) (stating that the aggravated felony definition is unambiguously retroactive); Kuhali, 266 F.3d at 110-11 (holding that the aggravated felony definitions have retroactive application). Furthermore, because 8 U.S.C. § 1101(f)(8) incorporate 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) by reference, it is clear that Congress intended that the aggravated felony definitions would apply retroactively to bar persons convicted of those crimes from establishing the good moral character necessary for naturalization. 18