Chuen Piu Kwong v. Holder

Petitioner Chuen Piu Kwong, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, was ordered removed on the ground that he had been convicted of an aggravated felony. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(iii). He contends that the evidence was insufficient to establish that the crime of which he was convicted was an aggravated felony. We conclude that Kwong’s conviction of first-degree burglary was a conviction of an aggravated felony, and was sufficiently established by the state court’s abstract of judgment. We also reject Kwong’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, and we accordingly deny his petition for review.

I. Background

Kwong is a native and citizen of the People’s Republic of China. He entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1990. In April 1997, Kwong pleaded guilty to a violation of California Penal Code § 459, the California burglary statute, and was sentenced to two years in prison. As a consequence of his conviction, removal proceedings were initiated.

The evidence of Kwong’s conviction that was before the IJ was a certified copy of the abstract of the judgment of the state court. That abstract noted that Kwong had pleaded guilty to a…