Jeremy Naidoo v. Eric Holder, Jr.

MEMORANDUM

Jeremy Naidoo, a native and citizen of South Africa and a lawful permanent resident of the United States, petitions for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). The BIA upheld the immigration judge’s ruling that Nai- doo’s first-degree residential burglary conviction, for violating California Penal Code § 459, constituted a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16 (b) and therefore was an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(43)(F), rendering him removable. We review de novo the BIA’s conclusion regarding whether an offense qualifies as an aggravated felony, see Kwong v. Holder, 671 F.3d 872, 876 (9th Cir.2011), and we deny the petition for review.

The government contends that we do not have jurisdiction to consider Naidoo’s petition for review. We reject that contention. We have jurisdiction to review questions of law raised in a petition for review, including the legal question of whether an offense is an aggravated felony for purposes of removal. 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(D); Kwong, 671 F.3d at 876 . Because Naidoo has raised a colorable legal claim concerning whether his prior conviction qualifies as an aggravated felony, we have…