Ramirez-Pina
Ramirez-Pina v. Immigration & Naturalization Service
Opinion
Lead Opinion
*840 MEMORANDUM *
Mercedes Ramirez-Pina appeals the district court’s denial of her petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court withdrew its initial decision, which would have granted Ramirez-Pina the writ.
We must determine whether Ramirez-Pina’s conviction under California Vehicle Code § 10851(a) — which proscribes driving or taking an automobile not one’s own — constitutes a “theft offense” as that term applies under 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(43)(G). Because we conclude that it does, Ramirez-Pina stands convicted of an aggravated felony and is ineligible for cancellation of removal.
In January, 1999, the INS served Ramirez-Pina with a Notice to Appear charging her with removability as an aggravated felon as a result of her 1996 guilty plea to unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of Cal. Veh.Code § 10851(a). Subsequently, the INS lodged an additional removability charge stemming from Ramirez-Pina’s conviction for possession of a controlled substance in violation of Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11377 (a). Ramirez-Pina has acknowledged a May, 22, 1996 guilty plea to the two charges; her plea resulted in a 365 day sentence.