Sergio Martinez-Perez v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Sergio Martinezr-Perez (“Martinez”) petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeal’s (“BIA”) opinion affirming the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) conclusion that he is removable and ineligible for any form of relief because of his conviction for an aggravated felony. Martinez argues that his conviction for grand theft under § 487(e) of the California Penal Code does not constitute a theft offense and therefore is not an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(43)(G). Under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(C), we lack jurisdiction to review a final order of removal against an alien who is removable based on his conviction for an aggravated felony. Huerta-Guevara v. Ashcroft, 321 F.3d 883, 885 (9th Cir.2003). We do, however, have jurisdiction to determine whether the jurisdictional bar of § 1252(a)(2)(C) applies. Randhawa v. Ashcroft, 298 F.3d 1148, 1152 (9th Cir.2002). We therefore have jurisdiction to ' determine whether Martinez’s offense qualifies as an aggravated felony, see id., and we conclude that it does.

Background

Martinez is a native and citizen of Mexico, and was admitted to the United States in 1981, as an immigrant. In 1996, Martinez was charged in state court with…