Case: 18-14513 Date Filed: 06/24/2020 Page: 1 of 14 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-14513 ________________________ Agency No. A044-849-370 KEEFE GORDON, Petitioner, versus UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent. ________________________ Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ________________________ (June 24, 2020) Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, JILL PRYOR and LUCK, Circuit Judges. JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judge: Case: 18-14513 Date Filed: 06/24/2020 Page: 2 of 14 Keefe Gordon, a native and citizen of Jamaica, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order affirming an Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) determination that his prior state conviction qualified as an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), rendering him removable and ineligible for cancellation of removal. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a)(3). After careful review, and with the benefit of oral argument, we deny Gordon’s petition for review of the BIA’s decision. I. BACKGROUND Gordon was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1995. Beginning about eight years later, he was convicted of various offenses in Georgia. These included convictions in 2003 for possession with intent to distribute ecstasy, in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-13-30(b) and (d), and obstruction of a police officer, in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24(a), and convictions in 2006 for possession of cocaine, in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-13-30(b); possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-11-131; and theft by receipt of stolen property, in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-8-7. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) charged Gordon as removable based on his convictions for an aggravated felony involving a drug trafficking crime, 8 U.S.C §§ 1101(a)(43)(B), 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii); an aggravated felony involving possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, id. 2 Case: 18-14513 Date Filed: 06/24/2020 Page: 3 of 14 §§ 1101(a)(43)(E), 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii); a controlled substance offense, id. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i); a firearms offense, id. § 1227(a)(2)(C); and two crimes involving moral turpitude, id. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii).1 Gordon denied the government’s allegations of fact and that he had an aggravated felony and argued that he was not removable as charged. He further argued that even if he were to be found removable, he would be eligible for cancellation of removal as a lawful permanent resident under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). Section 1229b(a) permits cancellation of removal for a noncitizen who has: (1) been a lawful permanent resident for at least five years, (2) “has resided in the United States continuously for 7 years after having been admitted in any status,” and (3) “has not been convicted of any aggravated felony.” Id. Because Gordon met the first two requirements of § 1229b(a), his removability turned ultimately on whether he had been convicted of an aggravated felony. After a hearing, an IJ determined that Gordon was removable for having been convicted of an aggravated felony, specifically, his 2003 conviction for possession with intent to distribute the drug “ecstasy,” because that offense was a drug trafficking crime involving a ...
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