Lopez-Diaz

MEMORANDUM *

1. Lopez-Diaz argues that he is not removable as an aggravated felon because the California Superior Court “expunged” his underlying aggravated felony conviction pursuant to California Penal Code § 1203.4. This expungement argument is intertwined with the threshold issue of jurisdiction: If Lopez-Diaz’s aggra *615 vated felony conviction remains operative despite the state court expungement, then we lack jurisdiction. 1 IIRIRA 2 enacted 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(C), which precludes judicial review of “any final order of removal against an alien who is removable by reason of having committed a criminal offense covered in section ... 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii).” Section 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), in turn, renders removable aliens who have been convicted of an aggravated felony. The issue to be resolved, and the one upon which jurisdiction hinges, is whether Lopez-Diaz “is removable” by virtue of his aggravated felony conviction. The answer turns on whether that conviction remains operative despite the fact that it was expunged by the California Superior Court. This issue has recently been resolved adversely to Lopez-Diaz. In Murillo-E spinoza, we affirmed the BIA’s interpretation that…