Maria Huerta-Guevara v. John D. Ashcroft, U.S. Attorney General

Maria Huerta-Guevara (Huerta) is a native and citizen of Mexico who entered the United States without inspection in 1975 and whose status was adjusted to lawful permanent residency in 1989. On June 8, 1996, Huerta was convicted of possession of a stolen vehicle in violation of Arizona law for which she was eventually sentenced to two years imprisonment. The Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) initiated removal proceedings based on her conviction for a “theft” offense that is an aggravated felony under INA § 101(a)(43)(G), 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(43)(G). The immigration judge (IJ) held that her conviction qualified as an aggravated felony, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed the results of that decision, without opinion, pursuant to its “streamlining” authority under 8 C.F.R. § 3.1 (a)(7).

Huerta seeks review of her final removal order. She raises two issues on appeal: that the IJ and the BIA erroneously concluded that she was convicted of an aggravated felony; and that she was denied due process by the IJ, who failed to inquire whether she waived her right to counsel and to develop the record adequately, as well as by the BIA, which failed to follow…