Lara-Duran

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Guadalupe Lara-Duran, a native of Mexico, was lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence in 1989. On October 7, 1997, he pled guilty to and was convicted of “Possession of a Controlled Substance” (methamphetamine and marijuana) in violation of Idaho Code § 37-2732 (a). On October 29, 1997, he pled guilty to and was convicted of “Possession of a Controlled Substance” (methamphetamine) in violation of Idaho Code § 37-2732 (c)(l). The Idaho state court consolidated the convictions and issued an aggregate sentence of four-and-one-half years in prison. On May 13, 1998, the court suspended the sentence and placed Lara-Duran on probation for four years. On September 2, 1998, Lara-Duran pled guilty to and was convicted of “Intimidating a Witness” in violation of Idaho Code §§ 18-112 and 18-2604, for which he received a sentence of five years in prison.

Based on these three convictions, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) 1 initiated removal proceedings against Lara-Duran on October 24, 2002, alleging that he was subject to removal because he had been convicted of an aggravated felony. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(iii). The…