Summary
The First Circuit denied Jonalson Dor’s petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals decision finding him removable based on an August 2018 Massachusetts marijuana conviction. The court held that, under INA § 237(a)(2)(B)(i), courts must use the Controlled Substances Act definition in effect at the time of conviction, and concluded that Dor’s conviction categorically matched the federal definition then in effect.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether, when determining whether a state controlled-substance conviction makes a noncitizen removable under INA section 237(a)(2)(B)(i), the court must compare the state statute with the federal Controlled Substances Act as it existed at the time of conviction or as it existed during the removal proceedings.
- Whether Dor's August 2018 Massachusetts marijuana conviction was a categorical match with the federal definition of a controlled substance applicable at the time of conviction.
Holdings
- Courts must use the Controlled Substances Act definition in effect at the time of the noncitizen's conviction, rather than the version in effect during the removal proceedings.
- Dor's August 2018 Massachusetts marijuana conviction constituted a categorical match with the federal marijuana definition in effect at the time of conviction and therefore supported removability under INA section 237(a)(2)(B)(i).
Key quotations
“we join the five other circuits to have considered this question and adopt the rule that the relevant CSA definition is the definition that existed at the time of conviction.” (at 2)
“Ultimately, we cannot support an interpretation that could attach new legal consequences -- including removal from this country -- to conduct that did not implicate such dire repercussions at the time of an adjudication of guilt.” (at 19)
“when evaluating whether a noncitizen is subject to removal for a controlled substance conviction under section 237(a)(2)(B)(i) of the INA, we consider the CSA as it existed at the time of the noncitizen's conviction.” (at 20)
Factual background
Jonalson Dor, a Haitian citizen and lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty in Massachusetts on August 6, 2018, to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. At the time of his conviction, both Massachusetts law and the federal Controlled Substances Act included hemp within the definition of marijuana. Congress later amended the CSA, effective in December 2018, to exclude hemp from the federal marijuana definition. DHS ultimately relied on Dor's 2018 conviction as the basis for removability under the INA's controlled-substance provision.
Procedural history
The Department of Homeland Security charged Dor with removability under section 237(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act based on controlled-substance convictions. After Dor's prior 2016 convictions were vacated and removed from the case, DHS amended the charges to rely on his August 2018 Massachusetts marijuana conviction. The immigration judge denied Dor's motion to terminate and ordered him removed, and the BIA dismissed his appeal. The First Circuit denied the petition for review.