Hernandez-Cruz v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., No. 13-3288 (3d Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseHernandez, a 34-year-old Mexican citizen, entered the U.S. without inspection in 1998. In 2009, he pled guilty to simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child, stemming from striking his 10-year-old stepson. DHS issued a Notice to Appear, charging that Hernandez was removable as an alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I). Hernandez conceded removability as an alien present without being admitted or paroled, but denied removability as an alien convicted of a CIMT and sought cancellation of removal, claiming that his children, U.S. citizens, would experience exceptional and extremely unusual hardship upon his removal. The Immigration Judge concluded that the children would suffer hardship, but that Hernandez was removable. The IJ found that the assault conviction was not a CIMT, but that the conviction for child endangerment constituted a CIMT because the statute requires “awareness by the accused that his violation of his duty of care, protection and support, is practically certain to result in the endangerment to his children’s welfare.” The BIA affirmed. The Third Circuit granted a petition for review, finding that the least culpable conduct criminalized under Pennsylvania’s child endangerment statute does not implicate moral turpitude.
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