Hernandez

I. Background

Hernandez-Aguilar is a native and citizen of Mexico. He was born in Tijuana, Mexico in 1972 and entered the United States as an infant in 1973. Hernandez-Aguilar was granted temporary resident status, but that status was revoked in May of 1997.

Beginning in 1997, the Immigration Naturalization Service1 (“INS”) sought to remove Hernandez-Aguilar, claiming that his prior conviction under California law makes him remov- able under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) (violation of law relating to a controlled substance) and 8 U.S.C. 1 On March 1, 2003, the INS ceased to exist and its functions were trans- ferred to the newly created Department of Homeland Security, pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135. Because the relevant agency actions took place before this transfer, we refer to the INS in this opinion. 15606 HERNANDEZ-AGUILAR v. HOLDER § 1182(a)(2)(C) (known or believed controlled substance traf- ficker).

The INS provided evidence that Hernandez-Aguilar was previously convicted in California state court for violating California Health and Safety Code § 11379(a), which states in relevant part:

[E]very person…