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99 Denver L. Rev. F. 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/dnvrlwfv99 and id is 1 raw text is: 







   PEREIDA V. WILKINSON: NON-CITIZEN QUALIFICATION FOR
DISCRETIONARY DEPORTATION RELIEF AND THE APPLICATION OF
                    THE  CATEGORICAL APPROACH

                              Chuck  Alcock'



                              I. INTRODUCTION

       Under  the 1952  Immigration  and Nationality Act, a nonpermanent
resident non-citizen can seek discretionary relief of a lawful removal order
when  they prove: (1) they have been present in the United States for at least
ten years; (2) they have been  a person of good  moral character; (3) they
have not been convicted of certain criminal offenses; and (4) their removal
would  impose  an exceptional and extremely  unusual hardship  on a close
relative who is either a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. 2
The   convicted  of certain criminal  offenses  prong  includes, crimes
involving moral  turpitude and crimes  in violation of, or a conspiracy or
attempt to violate, any law or regulation relating to a controlled substance.3
A  court's determination on whether  Congress  intended particular federal,
state, or local offenses  to fall within crimes  of  moral  turpitude is
complex.4  Since  1914,  federal courts have  resolved  this issue with  a
categorical analysis of criminal convictions. s This analysis examines the
nature of the crime of conviction, as defined by statute.' Not infrequently,
however,  a single criminal statute will list multiple, stand-alone offenses,



1 Juris Doctor Candidate, University of Denver Sturm College of Law. B.A., Indiana
University Bloomington. I thank Professor Ian Farrell of the University of Denver Sturm
College of Law for his supportive and extensive feedback throughout the development of
this case comment. I also thank DENVER LAW REVIEW, Volume 99 Editor in Chief
Carolyn Welter and Senior Forum Editor Ellen Blatt for their support during the publication
process. Finally, I extend my thanks to all American immigrants for their infusion of
culture, perspective, and grace to our nation. May the American legal system support all
in her borders striving to prosper.
2 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(4); 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(1); Pereida v. Wilkinson, 141 S. Ct. 754,
759 (2021).
3 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i).
4 Alina Das, The Immigration Penalties of Criminal Convictions: Resurrecting Categorical
Analysis in Immigration Law, 86 N.Y.U. L. REv. 1669, 1673 (2011).
s U.S. v. Uhl, 203 F. 860, 861 (2d Cir. 1914); Das, supra at 1691-92.
6 Pichardo-Sufren, 211. & N. Dec. 330, 335 (B.I.A. 1996); Das, supra at 1674.

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