United States First Circuit

Petition for review of BIA denial of discretionary relief from removal on account of aggravated felony convictions is denied where a state misdemeanor drug offense can amount to an "aggravated felony" if that offense would have been a felony had it been charged under the federal drug laws.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/26/2006
• Published 09/26/2006

Judges

• HOWARD, Circuit Judge., Before SELYA, LIPEZ, and HOWARD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• William W. Fick, with whom Foley Hoag LLP was on brief, for petitioner Berhe., Jeremiah Friedman, with whom Ilana Greenstein, Harvey Kaplan, Maureen O'Sullivan and Kaplan, O'Sullivan & Friedman, LLP, were on brief, for petitioner Henry., William E. Graves, Jr. and Graves & Doyle, on brief for Committee for Public Counsel Services, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and Immigrant Defense Project of the New York State Defenders Association, amici curiae in support of petitioner in No. 05-2239.


• For Appellees:
  
• John J. Andre, Senior Litigation Counsel, United States Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation, with whom Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, Michael P. Lindeman, Assistant Director, and Ethan B. Kanter, Senior Litigation Counsel, Office of Immigration Litigation, were on brief in No. 05-1870, and with whom Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, Linda S. Wernery, Assistant Director and William Minick, Attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation, were on brief in No. 05-2239, for respondent.