Avena

I. BACKGROUND

“The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) renders deportable any alien

convicted of an ‘aggravated felony’ after entering the United States. [Citation.] Such an

alien is also ineligible for cancellation of removal, a form of discretionary relief allowing

some deportable aliens to remain in the country. [Citations.] Accordingly, removal is a

virtual certainty for an alien found to have an aggravated-felony conviction, no matter

how long he has previously resided here.” (Sessions v Dimaya (2018) 584 U.S. 148, 153

(Sessions); Padilla v. Kentucky (2010) 559 U.S. 356, 364 [with an aggravated felony,

“removal is practically inevitable but for the possible exercise of limited remnants of

equitable discretion vested in the Attorney General”]; Valdez Amador v. Garland (9th

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 Cir. 2022) 28 F.4th 72, 78 [a noncitizen convicted of an aggravated felony “is not only

deportable, but also ineligible for discretionary relief”].)

“The INA defines ‘aggravated felony’ by listing numerous offenses and types of

offenses” and “includes ‘a crime of violence . . . for which the term of imprisonment [is]

at least one…