Carey

MEMORANDUM **

Stephen Linford Carey (“Carey”), a native and citizen of Belize, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) dismissal of the Immigration Judge’s (“LJ”) denial of his application for adjustment of status. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we deny the petition.

“We review the BIA’s determination of purely legal questions, such as whether a conviction is a controlled substance offense that makes an alien removable under § 1227 and whether a conviction is an aggravated felony, de novo." Rendon v. Mukasey, 520 F.3d 967, 971 (9th Cir.2008). When, as here, the BIA adopts a portion of the IJ’s decision, we review that portion of the IJ’s decision as if it were the BIA’s. See MoUna-Estrada v. INS, 293 F.3d 1089, 1093 (9th Cir.2002).

The BIA did not err in finding Carey removable because a conviction for violating any state law “relating to a controlled substance,” as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802 (6), renders an alien removable. 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(B)®. Carey’s plea of nolo contendere is a conviction for immigration purposes. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(48)(A). His California Health & Safety Code section 11360(a) conviction is a…