Pagayon

Bryan Vincent I. Pagayon petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals directing his removal, as well as the Board’s order denying reconsideration. We deny the petitions, and write principally to address Pagayon’s claim that the removal order was improperly based, in part, on admissions he made before the immigration judge (IJ).

I

Pagayon, a native of the Philippines, was a legal permanent resident of the United States. On November 30, 2006, he was placed into removal proceedings based on allegations that he had been convicted of violations of (1) section 12021(a)(1) of the California Penal Code, relating to possession of firearms by felons and drug addicts, and (2) section 11377(a) of the California Health and Safety Code, relating to possession of controlled substances.

At an initial hearing before the IJ, the government produced an abstract of judgment and the two informations that ostensibly underlay the convictions. The IJ summarized the documents — copies of which were given to Pagayon — as follows:

When the IJ asked, “Are these your convictions?” Pagayon responded, ‘Yes, Your Honor.”

*1231 Pagayon did not initially dispute the IJ’s…