Sanchez-Santur

MEMORANDUM ****

Victor Sanchez-Santur (“Petitioner”), a native and citizen of Peru, petitions for review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), which found Petitioner removable from the United States based on his 1990 conviction for a “Lewd Act Upon a Child” in violation of California Penal Code § 288(a). Petitioner is an alien, who had permanent legal resident status in the United States since 1979, prior to his detention by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. We have jurisdiction to determine whether Petitioner: (1) is an alien who; (2) is removable because; (3) he was convicted of an aggravated felony. See Matsuk v. INS, 247 F.3d 999, 1000-02 (9th Cir.2001). We review both the BIA’s legal conclusions and Petitioner’s claims of due process violations de novo, Abovian v. INS, 219 F.3d 972, 978 (9th Cir.2000), although the BIA’s interpretation of the meaning of the statute is entitled to deference. INS v. Aguirre-Aguirre, 526 U.S. 415, 424-25 , 119 S.Ct. 1439 , 143 L.Ed.2d 590 (1999).

Petitioner argues that the expungement of his 1990 conviction by order of the Superior Court of California on August 16, 1996, eliminates the conviction as grounds for…