United States v. Teng Jiao Zhou, No. 14-55027 (9th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant emigrated from China in 1985, and applied for naturalization in 1993. In 1994, defendant was found guilty of Robbery of the First Degree and False Imprisonment with Violence or Menace. On March 31, 1994, defendant took his oath of allegiance and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Nearly 20 years later, the government filed a complaint to revoke defendant's naturalization. The district court granted the government's motion on the pleadings based on 8 U.S.C. 1101(f)(3) (for having committed crimes involving moral turpitude during the statutory period); and (2) the “catch-all” provision of 8 U.S.C. 1101(f), as promulgated in 8 C.F.R. 316.10(b)(3)(iii) (for having committed unlawful acts that adversely reflect on one’s moral character during the statutory period). The court concluded that the district court did not err in holding that defendant could not establish good moral character under section 1101(f) and 8 C.F.R. 316.10(b)(3)(iii). Therefore, the district court was required to enter a judgment of denaturalization. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Immigration. The panel affirmed the district court’s order granting the government’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and its judgment revoking Teng Jiao Zhou’s naturalization pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a). The panel affirmed the district court’s denaturalization judgment under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(f), the “catch-all” provision, on the ground that Zhou’s robbery conviction prevented him from establishing good moral character during the statutory period. The panel held that robbery was an unlawful act which reflected adversely on Zhou’s moral character and for which he could not show extenuating circumstances.
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