Mario Arredondo Fierro v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Mario Arredondo Fierro (“Fierro”), a native and citizen of Mexico, and a lawful permanent resident of the United States, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order finding re-movability based, in part, on the BIA’s determination that Fierro’s state convictions for attempted sale or transportation of marijuana, in violation of Ariz.Rev.Stat. §§ 13-1001 and 13-3405, are aggravated felonies under 8 U.S.C. § llORaXJSXU). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 to review whether his conviction constituted an aggravated felony, and we deny in part and dismiss in part the petition.

1. Under the modified categorical approach, Fierro’s state convictions are aggravated felonies under 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(43)(U); see Cazarez-Gutierrez v. Ashcroft, 382 F.3d 905, 912 (9th Cir.2004) (“[A] state drug offense is an aggravated felony for immigration purposes ... if ... the crime contains a trafficking element.”). During Fierro’s change of plea hearing, he admitted he attempted to “transfer a sizea-ble amount of marijuana ... to another individual” on two separate occasions. Fi-erro admitted he acted as a “broker or ... a middle man” for the drug…