Opinion
No. 05-72995.
The panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(a)(2).
Filed April 2, 2009.
Ste. E, Law Office of Kanwal Singh, Modesto, CA, for Petitioner.
Ronald E. Lefevre, Chief Counsel, Office of the District Counsel Department of Homeland Security, San Francisco, CA, Mary Jane Candaux, Esq., U.S. Department of Justice Civil Div./Office of Immigration Lit., Washington, DC, for Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Agency No. A019-189-498.
Before: LEAVY, HAWKINS, and TASHIMA, Circuit Judges.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
Jesus Romero-Ramirez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' ("BIA") order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge's decision pretermitting his application for adjustment of status. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252. We review de novo constitutional questions and questions of law, Becker v. Gonzales, 473 F.3d 1000, 1001 n. 2 (9th Cir. 2007), and we deny the petition for review.
Romero-Ramirez's contention that the agency's retroactive application of the expanded aggravated felony definition in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43), violates due process by denying him relief is foreclosed. See Becker, 473 F.3d at 1002-03.
We agree with the agency that Romero-Ramirez's 1985 aggravated felony convictions render him statutorily ineligible for a § 212(h) waiver. See Becker, 473 F.3d at 1003-04 (grant of § 212(c) relief only waives the finding of deportability; the crimes alleged to be grounds of deportability do not disappear from the alien's record for immigration purposes); see also 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h)(2).