Second Possession Conviction Constitutes Aggravated Felony

The Supreme Court will hear an immigration case addressing whether a second drug possession conviction qualifies as an aggravated felony under INA § 101(a)(43)(B) (“drug trafficking crimes”). The specific question before the Court is “Whether a person convicted under state law for simple drug possession (a federal law misdemeanor) has been ‘convicted’ of an ‘aggravated felony’ on the theory that he could have been prosecuted for recidivist simple possession (a federal law felony), even though there was no charge or finding of a prior conviction in his prosecution for possession.”

The case is Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder, 570 F.3d 263 (5th Cir. 2009), cert. granted, 2009 U.S. LEXIS 9024 (U.S. Dec. 14, 2009) (09-60).

Oral arguments will be held at the Supreme Court on March 31, 2010.

Click here to read court documents related to this case that led up to the Supreme Court.

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Ruchi Thaker

Ruchi Thaker is New York City-based immigration attorney with extensive experience and excellent reputation for effective legal representation in simple and difficult immigration cases. I have experience in areas of deportation defense (criminal and non-criminal), federal court litigation, representation on appeals and motions with the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, family-based immigration, asylum, naturalization, and consular processing.