NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 17-3536 _____________ DENTON ALLISTON WATSON, a/k/a Dento Smith, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent _____________ On Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No. A037-776-255) Immigration Judge: Honorable Leo A. Finston ______________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) June 18, 2018 ______________ Before: GREENAWAY, JR., RESTREPO, and BIBAS, Circuit Judges (Opinion Filed: August 9, 2018) ______________ OPINION* ______________ * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. GREENAWAY, JR., Circuit Judge. Denton Watson is removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §§ 1227(a)(2)(B)(i) and 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), as an alien who was convicted of a crime related to controlled substances and involving moral turpitude, respectively. He petitions for review of a final order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), denying his application for Withholding of Removal under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Because we lack jurisdiction to hear his claim, we will dismiss Watson’s petition for review. I. Facts & Procedural Background A native and citizen of Jamaica, Watson was convicted of several controlled substances offenses in New Jersey over the span of a decade.1 Following the convictions, removal proceedings were commenced through the filing of a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) in Immigration Court. The NTA charged Watson as removable on three bases: (1) 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i), as an alien who, after admission to the United States, was convicted under a law related to controlled substances other than a single offense involving possession of thirty or fewer grams of marijuana; (2) 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), as an admitted alien who was convicted of two or more crimes 1 Watson’s judgments of conviction include, among others, violations of N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:35-5a(1), proscribing the distribution or the intent to distribute “a controlled dangerous substance,” and N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:35-7a, criminalizing the distribution of, or the intent to distribute a, “controlled dangerous substance” “while on any school property used for school purposes . . . or within 1,000 feet of such school property or a school bus.” 2 involving moral turpitude, which do not arise out of a single criminal scheme; and (3) 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), as an admitted alien convicted of an aggravated felony. Watson appeared before an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) and, through counsel, admitted all factual allegations set forth in the NTA, and conceded removability under the moral turpitude and controlled substances charges. He also conceded that, due to his criminal convictions, he was ineligible for all forms of relief, except for withholding of removal under the CAT. He therefore submitted a CAT application supported primarily by a personal statement. The IJ held a hearing and allowed Watson to testify and proffer evidence in support of his CAT application. Watson testified that he would be tortured by members of the Jamaican Labor Party (“JLP”) upon his ostensible return to Jamaica due to his involvement decades ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals