McCullock

MEMORANDUM **

Jerod MeCullock petitions for review from the order of removal of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). MeCullock argues that the BIA erred in holding that (1) his Arizona conviction in 2000 was for an offense relating to a controlled substance and (2) his Arizona conviction in 1995 was for a crime of violence and was thus an aggravated felony. For the reasons that follow, we GRANT MeCullock’s petition for review, VACATE the BIA’s decision, and REMAND to the BIA for a hearing on McCulloek’s application for relief under former INA § 212(c).

Our review is “limited to the BIA’s decision” because it conducted its own review of the evidence and law rather than adopt the Immigration Judge’s decision. Hosseini v. Gonzales, 471 F.3d 953, 957 (9th Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks omitted). Because the issue of whether a prior state conviction is a predicate offense justifying removal is a question of law, we will review the BIA’s decision de novo. See Morales-Alegria v. Gonzales, 449 F.3d 1051, 1053 (9th Cir.2006).

The BIA erred in holding that McCullock’s 2000 conviction was for an offense relating to a controlled substance that made him removable under §…