Villarreal-Rodriguez

MEMORANDUM *

Jesus Eduardo Villarreal-Rodriguez (“Villarreal”) petitions for review of the order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), which designated him as removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(B)© based on state law convictions for violations of California Penal Code sections 11377 and 11550. The BIA also found that Villarreal waived his right to challenge removability by admitting facts related to his controlled substance convictions and by conceding re-movability before the immigration judge (“IJ”). We grant the petition. The parties are familiar with the facts of this case, so we repeat them here only as necessary.

First, Villarreal did not waive his right to challenge his removability before the BIA by admitting facts related to his state law convictions or by conceding removability before the IJ. Villarreal did not effect such a waiver because the question of whether his convictions support removal is a question of law, and the government has suffered no prejudice. See Huerta-Guevara, v. Ashcroft, 321 F.3d 883, 886 (9th Cir.2003) (holding that court may consider an issue regardless of purported waiver if it is purely one of law and the opposing party will not…