Alonso Ramirez-Chavez v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Alonso Ramirez-Chavez, a native and citizen of Mexico, challenges the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decision finding him ineligible for cancellation of removal due to a prior aggravated felony conviction. Because his record of conviction clearly and convincingly establishes he was convicted of an aggravated felony, his petition must be denied. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a)(3).

Petitioner pled guilty in 2005 to Count I of a Nevada criminal Information, which charged him with “trafficking in a controlled substance,” in violation of NRS § 453.3385(3), for “selling], manufacturing], delivering], or be[ing] in actual or constructive possession of 28 grams or more of ... methamphetamine.” Count I specified that Ramirez-Chavez “sold the methamphetamine” to a confidential informant.

Methamphetamine is a controlled substance, see 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., and trafficking in a controlled substance is an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(43)(B). However, a conviction under NRS § 453.3385 is not categorically an aggravated felony because the full range of conduct it criminalizes, including mere possession, is broader than the relevant federal statute, 8…