Perez-Enriquez

I. Factual Background

On about November 10, 1988, Jaime Perez-Enriquez, a citi- zen of Mexico, was admitted to lawful temporary resident sta- tus under the SAW provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1160(a)(1). It is undis- puted that at the time he was granted temporary resident sta- tus, Perez-Enriquez satisfied the requirements for admissibility under § 1160(a)(1). On December 1, 1990, Perez-Enriquez’s status was automatically adjusted to lawful permanent resident under 8 U.S.C. § 1160(a)(2).

On March 27, 1989, after his admission as a lawful tempo- rary resident under § 1160(a)(1), but before his adjustment to lawful permanent resident status under § 1160(a)(2), Perez- Enriquez pled guilty to possession for sale of a controlled sub- stance in violation of California Health and Safety Code § 11135. The court imposed a $100 fine and a suspended sen- tence of 180 days in county jail. In 2001, the Immigration and Naturalization Service1 (“INS”) sought to remove Perez- Enriquez as an inadmissible alien under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(A) on the ground that, due to his drug convic- tion, he was inadmissible at the time his status was adjusted to that of…