Cervantes-Cardenas

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Miguel Cervantes-Cardenas, a citizen of Mexico, who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, appeals the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) holding that he is removable because his California conviction for transporting 158 pounds of marijuana was an aggravated felony. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we affirm.

Although we review de novo the BIA’s determination of purely legal issues, see *330 Molina-Estrada v. INS, 293 F.3d 1089, 1093 (9th Cir.2002); Socop-Gonzalez v. INS, 272 F.3d 1176, 1187 (9th Cir.2001) (en banc), we defer to the BIA’s interpretation of immigration laws unless it is contrary to the plain meaning of the statute. Bui v. INS, 76 F.3d 268, 269-70 (9th Cir.1996).

Cervantes-Cardenas was convicted of transporting marijuana in violation of California Health & Safety Code § 11360(a). The BIA found that his conviction was an aggravated felony because it constituted illicit trafficking in a controlled substance as defined by the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq. The BIA reasoned that the quantity of marijuana involved indicated that Cervantes-Cardenas’s transportation was not…