Hernandez v. Holder, Jr., No. 13-2832 (8th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePetitioner appealed the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's denial of petitioner's requests for asylum, cancellation of removal, special cancellation of removal, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court concluded that petitioner's 1989 conviction for grand theft auto was an aggravated felony which made him ineligible for cancellation of removal and special cancellation of removal; the court joined its sister circuits in concluding that Congress intended the aggravated felony bar to apply to convictions received before the enactment of the Miscellaneous and Technical Immigration and Naturalization Amendments of 1991 (MTINA) in 1991, and the court further concluded that the bar applied to petitioner's 1989 conviction; and the court declined to address petitioner's adverse credibility claims on mootness grounds. Accordingly, the court denied the petition for review.
Court Description: Petition for Review - Immigration. The agency did not err in determining that petitioner's conviction for grand theft auto was an aggravated felony, making him ineligible for asylum, cancellation of removal and special cancellation of removal; the court joins other circuits which have held that the aggravated felony bar applies to convictions obtained before the enactment of the Miscellaneous and Technical Immigration and Naturalization Amendments of 1991; no error in denying CAT relief; the court would not address petitioner's adverse credibility issues as they are moot.
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