Jose Roberto Fernandez-Ruiz v. Alberto R. Gonzales , Attorney General

Jose Roberto Fernandez-Ruiz, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order affirming an immigration judge’s decision to rescind Fernandez-Ruiz’s lawful permanent resident status, remove him from the country, and deny him any relief from removal. We deny the petition.

The government argues that we lack jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(C) for three separate reasons. Specifically, it argues that we lack jurisdiction because each of two crimes committed by Fernandez-Ruiz qualifies as an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(iii) and each provides a separate basis for removal under that sub-section, and because Fernandez-Ruiz also committed two crimes of moral turpitude, the minimum number that serves as a basis for removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(ii).

We have always retained jurisdiction to determine our jurisdiction, and so have always been free to evaluate whether Fernandez-Ruiz’s convictions were qualifying offenses for the purpose of these jurisdictional bars. See, e.g., Ye v. INS, 214 F.3d 1128, 1131 (9th Cir.2000). Until recently, however, two subsections of 8 U.S.C. § 1252 routinely barred this…