Jose Guevara v. Loretta E. Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Jose Mauricio Guevara, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the ■ Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s decision finding him ineligible for cancellation of removal. Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review de novo questions of law, Mielewczyk v. Holder, 575 F.3d 992, 994 (9th Cir.2009), and we deny in part and dismiss in part the petition for review.

The BIA correctly determined that Guevara’s conviction for violating California Health and Safety Code § 11360(a) is a state law relating to a controlled substance under 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(2)(A)(i)(II) that renders him statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(l)(C). See Mielewczyk, 575 F.3d at 994 -98 & n. 1 (finding the plain language of § 11352(a), a statute “largely identical” to § 11360(a), relates to a controlled substance, and “the distinction between a generic solicitation statute or one specifically aimed at controlled substances is critical when our inquiry is whether the statute of conviction is a state law relating to controlled substances”).

We lack jurisdiction to consider…