A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit asked New York’s highest court Monday to decide if the state’s petit larceny statute qualifies as a crime of “moral turpitude” that could leave immigrants vulnerable to removal proceedings in federal court.

The certified question, posed to the New York Court of Appeals, requested guidance on whether the statute’s intent provision was a “categorical match” with the Board of Immigration Appeal’s definition for determining a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT).