Rivas-Gomez

BACKGROUND

Carlos Rene Rivas-Gomez (“Rivas”), a native and citizen of Guatemala, entered the United States in 1997 as an asylee. In 2001, Rivas pleaded guilty to felony rape in the third degree pursuant to ORS § 163.355. He was placed on three years’ formal probation under Oregon’s “Sex Offender Provi- sions.” These provisions made Rivas eligible under Oregon law for registration and supervision as a “predatory sex offender.” ORS § 181.585-181.592. The charge arose out of a sexual relationship between Rivas, who was nineteen years old at the time, and a fourteen-year-old girl. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”)1 initiated removal pro- ceedings against Rivas pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2) (A)(iii), which renders deportable “any alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission.” “Rape” is classified by federal law an aggravated felony. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(A) (defining “aggravated felony” as “murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor”). 1 Pursuant to the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan, as of March 1, 2003, the INS was abolished and its functions were transferred to the Department of Homeland Security. See 6 U.S.C. §…