” Gao, No. 07-2070, slip. op at 7.In contrast, in Matter of N-A-M-, 24 I&N Dec. 336, 337 (BIA 2007), the BIA held that a PSC “need not be an aggravated felony.” Gao, No. 07-2070, slip. op at 7.
As with our client, the BIA asserts that those changes are owed deference by federal courts no matter how severe the impact. See, e.g., Matter of Valenzuela Gallardo, 25 I&N Dec. 838 (BIA 2012) (regarding the obstruction of justice aggravated felony); Matter of N-A-M-, 24 I&N Dec. 336 (BIA 2007) (regarding the particularly serious crime bar to withholding of removal). This week’s decision will help attorneys push back against claims by DHS and the BIA that new BIA interpretations of crime-based removal provisions ought to always apply retroactively.