Moncrieffe v. Holder, No. 11-702; U.S. Supreme Court; opinion by Sotomayor, J.; dissents by Thomas and Alito, JJ.; decided April 23, 2013. On certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a noncitizen convicted of an "aggravated felony" is not only deportable, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), but also ineligible for discretionary relief. The INA lists as an "aggravated felony" "illicit trafficking in a controlled substance," § 1101(a)(43)(B), which, as relevant here, includes the conviction of an offense that the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) makes punishable as a felony, i.e., by more than one year’s imprisonment, see 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(2), 3559(a)(5). A conviction under state law "constitutes a ‘felony punishable under the [CSA]‘ only if it proscribes conduct punishable as a felony under that federal law." Lopez v. Gonzales, 549 U.S. 47, 60.
