Opinion ID: 2995295
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Theft Offense Under the INA.

Text: In Solorzano-Patlan, we established a framework for determining when a defendant’s prior criminal conviction can properly be classified as an aggravated felony under the INA. In determining whether a criminal conviction falls within one of the statutory predicate offenses designated as aggravated felonies by Congress, the uniform application of federal law requires that we identify and apply the generic elements of the felonious activity involved, rather than the inconsistent titles, elements and definitions used in the statutes of the various states. Solorzano-Patlan, 207 F.3d at 873. We have previously defined a theft offense for purposes of the INA as requiring the taking of property (exercise of control over property), without the owner’s consent, with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the owner of the rights and benefits of ownership. Hernandez-Mancilla v. INS, 246 F.3d 1002, 1009 (7th Cir. 2001). Garcia’s guilty plea to the 1988 burglary charge went only to an admission that he unlawfully entered a vehicle with the intent to commit a theft, but neither his plea nor the charging document encompassed an admission or charge that he completed the act of taking property from the vehicle./5