Victor Saravia-Paguada v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General

In 1988, Petitioner, Victor Saravia-Pa-guada, a legal permanent resident (“LPR”), was convicted of several felonies in California, for which he served three years and two months in prison. After his release, Petitioner conceded deportability but requested discretionary relief under former § 212(c) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (“INA”). While his deportation proceedings were pending, in 1992 Petitioner was again convicted for felony offenses and received a sentence of six years and four months, which reflected in part a three-year recidivist enhancement. Petitioner served three years and three months of this sentence. In 2002, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) summarily affirmed the immigration judge’s (“IJ”) pretermitting of relief under former § 212(c) because, by an intervening act of Congress, eligibility for relief was barred for any alien who has been convicted of “one or more aggravated felonies and has served for such felony or felonies” a term of imprisonment of at least five years. See § 306(a)(10) of the Miscellaneous and Technical Immigration and Naturalization Amendments, Pub.L. No. 102-232, 105 Stat. 1733, 1751 (effective Dec. 12, 1991) (“Technical…