NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 18-3714 _____________ RUBENS FRANCIS, AKA Ruben Francis, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent _______________________ On Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals No. A058-822-408 Immigration Judge: Honorable Leo A. Finston _______________________ Argued June 18, 2020 Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, CHAGARES, and PORTER, Circuit Judges (Filed: July 23, 2020) James S. Ballenger Bradley Copeland [ARGUED] Eric Dement [ARGUED] University of Virginia School of Law 580 Massie Road Charlottesville, VA 22903 Counsel for Petitioner Colin J. Tucker [ARGUED] United States Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation P.O. Box 878 Washington, DC 20044 Counsel for Respondent ______________________ OPINION _______________________ SMITH, Chief Judge. Rubens Francis has filed a petition for review of the decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the Immigration Judge’s (IJ) determination that an aggravated felony conviction renders him ineligible for cancellation of removal. Because Francis failed to meet his burden to establish that he was not convicted of a qualifying theft offense, we will deny the petition. I. Francis is a native of Haiti and a lawful permanent resident of the United States. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of second degree possession of a * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. 2 firearm for an unlawful purpose under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:39-4(a) and one count of third degree conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:20-3(a). In 2017, Francis was served with a notice to appear. At a subsequent hearing, the IJ found him removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(C) based on his firearm conviction. Francis applied for cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a), but the IJ pretermitted the application based on a “disqualifying conviction for an aggravated felony”: the theft by unlawful taking conviction. AR 37;1 see 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a)(3). Because Francis sought no further relief, the IJ ordered his removal. Francis appealed to the BIA, challenging the pretermission of the cancellation application. The BIA agreed with the IJ that Francis had been convicted of an aggravated felony and is therefore ineligible for cancellation of removal. The BIA dismissed the appeal and Francis timely filed this petition for review. We appointed counsel.2 1 “AR” refers to the administrative record. 2 We express our gratitude to law students Bradley Copeland and Eric Dement, as well as their supervisor James Ballenger, all of the University of Virginia School of Law, for donating their time and talent through their zealous representation of Rubens Francis before our Court. 3 II.3 Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), “a theft offense (including receipt of stolen property) . . . for which the term of imprisonment [is] at least one year” qualifies as an aggravated felony. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G). Because Francis’s term of imprisonment was undisputedly longer than one year, the question before us is whether his ...
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