United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ Nos. 19-3032 & 20-1259 ___________________________ Diego Ulises Aquino Arroyo lllllllllllllllllllllPetitioner v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General of the United States1 lllllllllllllllllllllRespondent ____________ Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ____________ Submitted: December 16, 2020 Filed: April 14, 2021 ____________ Before SMITH, Chief Judge, LOKEN and MELLOY, Circuit Judges. ____________ MELLOY, Circuit Judge. Diego Ulises Aquino Arroyo appeals the Board’s determination that a 2011 Iowa conviction for possession of a controlled substance disqualifies him from relief 1 Attorney General Garland is substituted for his predecessor pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 43(c). in the form of cancellation of removal. Under our prior-conviction analysis, he argues the Iowa statute is overbroad but non-divisible such that it categorically does not qualify as a controlled-substance offense. He also appeals the Board’s denials of a motion to reopen proceedings before the IJ for the purpose of administrative closure and a motion for reconsideration. We find no errors nor abuses of discretion, and we affirm the Board’s denial of Arroyo’s petition and motions. I. Arroyo, a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States without admission or parole in 2000 when he was eight years old. In early 2011, before he turned nineteen, he pleaded guilty to a violation of Iowa Code Section 124.401(5) which criminalizes the simple possession of controlled substances. The Iowa court entered a deferred judgment and a sentence of one year’s probation. In 2017, Arroyo received deferral of removal for two years pursuant to the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).2 In 2018, while under DACA, he was charged in Iowa with domestic assault by impeding breathing or circulation in violation of Iowa Code Sections 708.1(2) and 708.2A(2)(d). In August 2018, based on these charges, he pleaded guilty to the offense of disorderly conduct in violation of Iowa Code Section 723.4(2). The 2018 criminal proceedings brought him to the attention of the Department of Homeland Security (Government). The Government initiated removal proceedings alleging removability based on two grounds: Arroyo’s entry into the United States without admission or parole, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i); and his 2011 conviction for a controlled-substance offense, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(a)(i)(II). Arroyo denied both 2 The parties do not identify any immigration-related proceedings initiated prior to 2018 or otherwise explain the circumstances leading to the 2017 DACA relief. -2- charges of removability. As to the allegation of removability based on the Iowa controlled-substance conviction, he argued the Iowa statute was overbroad but non- divisible. He also applied for withholding of removal and relief pursuant to the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Finally, he applied for cancellation of removal. By this time, Arroyo was married, his wife had received temporary protected status, and he was the father of a United-States-citizen child. In his application for cancellation of removal, he alleged removal would cause harm to his wife and child. To overcome a bar to cancellation of removal based on the Iowa …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals