Tulio Cardozo-Arias v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Tulio Kartik Cardozo-Arias (Cardozo) petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) affirmance of a decision by an Immigration Judge (IJ) finding Cardozo removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(iii). The BIA held that Cardozo’s conviction for manufacturing controlled substances under California law qualifies as a drug trafficking crime, which constitutes an aggravated felony, as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(43)(B). Cardozo challenges the BIA’s determination that his conviction qualifies as an aggravated felony under the modified categorical approach and contends that there is insufficient proof in the record to support such a finding.

The BIA concluded that “[Cardozo]’s abstract of judgment and information, taken together, establish that he was convicted in California of knowingly manufacturing concentrated cannabis, a substance that qualifies as marihuana under Federal law. That offense corresponds to the manufacture of marihuana under 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1) ... Thus, [Cardozoj’s California offense is a drug trafficking crime under 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c) and, by extension, an aggravated felony under section 101(a)(43)(B) of the Act.” Citing…