Coyomani-Cielo v. Holder, No. 13-2955 (7th Cir. 2014)
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Coyomani, a citizen of Mexico, entered the U.S. without inspection in 1997. In 2000, he was convicted in Illinois state court of domestic battery and of resisting a peace officer. DHS placed Coyomani in removal proceedings, charging him as an alien present without being admitted or paroled, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A)(i), and as an alien who had been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I). Coyomani denied that he had committed a CIMT but conceded removability and sought cancellation of removal as a non-lawful permanent resident. The IJ concluded that Coyomani was removable and ineligible for cancellation of removal, because he was present without being admitted or paroled. Although Coyomani was convicted of domestic battery, which qualifies as a CIMT, the IJ found that Coyomani “probably” satisfied the statutory exception due to the brevity of his sentence and that resisting a peace officer did not qualify as a CIMT. The IJ found that Coyomani was ineligible for cancellation of removal because he had been convicted of “an offense under” section 237(a)(2), “an aggravated felony.” The same crime—state domestic battery—had different implications for different sections of the INA. The Board of Immigration Appeals and Seventh Circuit upheld the determination.
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