Case: 18-12137 Date Filed: 10/09/2019 Page: 1 of 23 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-12137 ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 3:17-cv-00062-HES-JRK DIMITRIOS I. BOURTZAKIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, JACKSONVILLE FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, Defendants-Appellees. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida ________________________ (October 9, 2019) Case: 18-12137 Date Filed: 10/09/2019 Page: 2 of 23 Before WILLIAM PRYOR and JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges, and ROBRENO,* District Judge. WILLIAM PRYOR, Circuit Judge: This appeal presents the question whether a conviction for delivery of cocaine under Washington law, Wash. Rev. Code § 69.50.401(a)(1)(i) (1989), categorically qualifies as an “aggravated felony” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43). The Department of Homeland Security denied Dimitrios Bourtzakis’s application for naturalization on the ground that his prior conviction in Washington for delivery of cocaine is an aggravated felony under section 1101(a)(43), which bars him from establishing the “good moral character” necessary for naturalization. Id. §§ 1101(f)(8), 1427(a). Bourtzakis filed a complaint challenging that denial, id. § 1421(c), but the district court ruled that his prior conviction is an aggravated felony and dismissed his complaint. Because we agree with the district court that Bourtzakis’s prior conviction categorically qualifies as an aggravated felony, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND Bourtzakis, a citizen of Greece, has lawfully resided in the United States since 1974. He applied for naturalization in 2016, but the Department denied his application on the ground that his prior conviction of an “aggravated felony,” 8 * Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation. 2 Case: 18-12137 Date Filed: 10/09/2019 Page: 3 of 23 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43), bars him from establishing the necessary “good moral character,” id. §§ 1101(f)(8), 1427(a). In 1992, a Washington court convicted Bourtzakis of delivering cocaine in violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Wash. Rev. Code § 69.50.401(a)(1)(i) (1989). Bourtzakis challenged the denial of his application in a hearing before the Citizenship and Immigration Services, which reaffirmed that decision. Bourtzakis then filed a complaint in the district court to review the denial of his application. See 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c). His complaint alleged that his conviction for delivery of cocaine was not an aggravated felony and did not bar him from establishing good moral character. The government moved to dismiss Bourtzakis’s complaint, Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), on the ground that his prior conviction categorically qualified as a “drug trafficking crime,” which is an aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B). Section 1101(a)(43)(B) defines “drug trafficking crime” to include any felony punishable under the federal Controlled Substances Act, id. (incorporating 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2)), and the government argued that Bourtzakis’s conviction for delivery of cocaine under Washington law also would have been punishable as a felony under the federal Act. Bourtzakis responded that the Washington statute proscribes the act ...
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