USCA4 Appeal: 22-1907 Doc: 37 Filed: 06/22/2023 Pg: 1 of 19 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 22-1907 MOISES CRUZ CRUZ, Petitioner, v. MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Argued: May 4, 2023 Decided: June 22, 2023 Before THACKER and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge. Petition for review denied by unpublished per curiam opinion. Judge Keenan wrote a dissenting opinion. ARGUED: Paulina Nicole Vera, Washington, D.C.; Cornelia Waugh, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner. William Clark Minick, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. ON BRIEF: Alberto Benitez, The Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner. Brian M. Boynton, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Melissa K. Lott, Senior Litigation Counsel, Office of Immigration Litigation, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. 1 USCA4 Appeal: 22-1907 Doc: 37 Filed: 06/22/2023 Pg: 2 of 19 Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. 2 USCA4 Appeal: 22-1907 Doc: 37 Filed: 06/22/2023 Pg: 3 of 19 PER CURIAM: Moises Cruz Cruz (“Petitioner”) seeks review of the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) finding him ineligible for cancellation of removal. Because we find that Petitioner’s prior conviction for falsely identifying himself to a law enforcement officer in violation of Va. Code section 19.2-82.1 is a crime involving moral turpitude (“CIMT”), we deny the petition for review. I. Petitioner is a native and citizen of Mexico who entered the United States without authorization on or about June 1, 2000. On April 16, 2013, Petitioner was pulled over by a police officer for driving through a gas station parking lot to avoid a crowded intersection. The officer asked Petitioner, in “incoherent Spanish,” to provide his name. J.A. 28. 1 Petitioner responded that his name was “Moises Celio Cruz.” Id. Then, in English, the officer repeated his request for Petitioner’s name and Petitioner “immediately knew there was a misunderstanding.” Id. Petitioner responded, “let me write down my full name for you because you don’t understand,” and then wrote down his correct name -- Moises Cruz Cruz -- and his correct date of birth. Id. The officer arrested Petitioner for providing false identification to a police officer in violation of Va. Code section 19.2-82.1. Petitioner entered a guilty plea to that offense. On May 29, 2013, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a Notice to Appear, charging Petitioner with being removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1 Citations to the “J.A.” refer to the Joint Appendix filed by the parties to this appeal. 3 USCA4 Appeal: 22-1907 Doc: 37 Filed: 06/22/2023 Pg: 4 of 19 § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i). Petitioner admitted the factual allegations in the Notice to Appear and conceded removability. But Petitioner applied for Cancellation of Removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b). At the merits hearing on Petitioner’s application, DHS moved to pretermit Petitioner’s application for cancellation of removal, …
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