Nicarnor-Romero

I. Background

Nicanor-Romero was born in Mexico in 1956. In April 1981, he entered the United States without inspection. Soon thereafter, he applied for adjustment of status to lawful per- manent resident. His application was granted on January 11, 1990. He has lived here as a lawful permanent resident, work- ing steadily and paying taxes, since then.

On July 3, 1990, Nicanor-Romero was charged in San Diego County, California, with two misdemeanor counts of annoying or molesting a child under the age of eighteen in violation of § 647.6(a). The criminal complaint sheds little light on the underlying facts of the § 647.6(a) violation. For both counts, it simply alleges that, “on or about June 29, 1990, . . . a misdemeanor was committed by said defendant who did annoy or molest” a girl “under the age of 18 years . . . .”

On August 7, 1990, a jury convicted Nicanor-Romero of violating § 647.6(a). The verdict sheet reveals little about the precise nature of Nicanor-Romero’s offense. It states only, “We, the jury, . . . find the defendant, Arturo Romero Nicanor, GUILTY of a misdemeanor who did annoy or molest a child under the age of 18 years, in violation of Penal Code section…