Wai Shek Kwong v. Holder

MEMORANDUM **

Wai Shek Kwong seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of a discretionary waiver of removal, pursuant to former § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (c) (repealed 1996). Because Kwong is ineligible for relief under § 212(c), we affirm.

In removal proceedings, different Immigration Judges (“Us”) determined that Kwong, a native and citizen of China, was removable from the United States both as an alien convicted of two “crimes involving moral turpitude” pursuant to INA § 237(a)(2)(A)®, 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(ii), and as an alien convicted of an aggravated felony — in this case, kidnapping — pursuant to INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(iii), 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(iii). The BIA affirmed these determinations, and Kwong filed a special motion, seeking relief under former § 212(c), which the BIA dismissed.

Section 212(a) of the INA sets forth classes of aliens who may be barred entry to the United States, and prior to its repeal, § 212(c) provided a means of securing discretionary relief from exclusion. Section 212(c) stated that:

In its determination to dismiss, the BIA concluded, in line with prior Ninth Circuit…