Gloria Ibarra-Hernandez v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Gloria Ibarra-Hernandez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of a final order of removal. The Board of Immigration Appeals held that petitioner is ineligible for cancellation of removal because her conviction for taking the identity of another in violation of Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-2008(A) involves moral turpitude under both the categorical and modified categorical approaches. We hold that A.R.S. § 13-2008(A) is not a categorical crime involving moral turpitude. The statute is divisible, and not every possible variation of the crime requires proof of fraud. For example, under the statute, a defendant can be convicted for using a fictitious person’s identity with only the intent to obtain employment, not to defraud. However, petitioner admitted at the change of plea hearing to using a real person’s identity, without that person’s knowledge or consent, to obtain employment. Applying the modified categorical approach, the Board reasonably held that stealing a real person’s identity for the purpose of obtaining employment is inherently fraudulent, and therefore, that it involves moral turpitude.

I. Background

Petitioner, a native and citizen of…