Removal proceedings

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Maria Eudofilla Arias v. Loretta E. Lynch

Case No.: 14-2839

Officials: POSNER, RIPPLE, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Removal proceedings

Court to consider a new framework for judging crimes involving moral turpitude

“To add to the confusion, the Board did not correctly apply the Silva‐Trevino I framework in its opinion holding that Arias’s violation of § 408(a)(7)(B) involved moral turpitude. The Board selectively quoted the statute and then stated: “An intent to deceive for the purpose of wrongfully obtaining a benefit is an element of the offense, and therefore the offense is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude.” As noted above, § 408(a)(7)(B) criminalizes false use of a social security number not only to obtain a benefit but also “for any other purpose.” The Board rephrased the statute to fit Arias’s par‐ ticular circumstances, which indicates that the Board looked beyond the statute to determine that Arias’s crime of convic‐ tion involved moral turpitude. This was permissible under Silva‐Trevino I, but only if examination of the statute proved inconclusive. Silva‐Trevino I, 24 I. & N. Dec. at 690.1 “

Petition granted

Remanded for court to consider under appropriate legal framework

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.