Mellouli v. Holder, Jr., No. 12-3093 (8th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, a citizen of Tunisia and a lawful permanent resident of the United States, petitioned for review of the BIA's order finding him removable because his July 2010 conviction for violating a Kansas drug paraphernalia statute was a conviction "relating to a controlled substance" within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(B)(i). The court denied the petition, concluding that the BIA correctly concluded that a conviction for violating the Kansas paraphernalia statute was, categorically, related to a controlled substance within the meaning of section 1227(a)(2)(B)(i) and use of the modified categorical approach as urged by petitioner was unnecessary; the court rejected petitioner's premise that Matter of Paulus was controlling agency authority the BIA arbitrarily ignored; and it was not error to admit and rely on evidence outside the record of conviction where the BIA concluded that the personal use exception did not apply.
Court Description: Petition for Review - Immigration. BIA's conclusion that a state court drug paraphernalia conviction "relates to" a federal controlled substance because it is a crime "involving conduct associated with the drug trade in general" was a reasonable interpretation of the relevant statute, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1227(a);BIA did not err in relying on evidence outside the record of conviction to determine that petitioner's state conviction fell outside the personal use exception of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1227(a)(2)(B)(i). [ July 08, 2013
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