Nikolay Tantchev v. Merrick B. Garland


RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 22a0195p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ NIKOLAY STOYANO TANTCHEV, │ Petitioner, │ > No. 21-4067 │ v. │ │ MERRICK B. GARLAND, Attorney General, │ Respondent. │ ┘ On Petition for Review from the Board of Immigration Appeals; No. A 078 866 822. Argued: July 27, 2022 Decided and Filed: August 19, 2022 Before: GUY, MOORE, and CLAY, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: Maria Baldini-Potermin, MARIA BALDINI-POTERMIN & ASSOCIATES, P.C., Chicago, Illinois, for Petitioner. Christina R. Zeidan, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. ON BRIEF: Maria Baldini-Potermin, MARIA BALDINI-POTERMIN & ASSOCIATES, P.C., Chicago, Illinois, for Petitioner. Christina R. Zeidan, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondent. _________________ OPINION _________________ CLAY, Circuit Judge. Nikolay Stoyanov Tantchev petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) ordering him removed from the United States for having been convicted of an aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act No. 21-4067 Tantchev v. Garland Page 2 (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G). For reasons set forth below, we DENY the petition for review. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background Petitioner Nikolay Stoyanov Tantchev is a native and citizen of Bulgaria. He entered the United States on May 1, 1999, with a business visa. He received lawful permanent resident status on April 23, 2012. For many years, Tantchev ran a trucking business out of a warehouse in Chicago. United States v. Tantchev, 916 F.3d 645, 648 (7th Cir. 2019). In 2008, Tantchev and one of his employees started operating a side business coordinating the export of shipping containers from Chicago to Mongolia for individual customers. See id. Tantchev would have large shipping containers delivered to his warehouse. Id. His customers would then come to his warehouse and load the shipping containers themselves. Id. at 649. Tantchev never looked inside the containers. Id. He would fill out customs paperwork describing the contents of the containers using information provided by the customers. Id. In 2011, Customs and Border Protection learned that several of these shipping containers held stolen cars. Id. In 2016, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois indicted Tantchev on several counts related to this activity. Id. at 650. Relevant to this appeal, Tantchev was charged with exporting stolen vehicles under 18 U.S.C. § 553. Id. at 650, 652. The case went to trial, and the jury convicted Tantchev on all charges. Id. at 650. At trial, the district court instructed the jury on the elements of a § 553 crime stating that they must find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that: 1. The defendant attempted to export the motor vehicle . . . ; 2. The motor vehicle was stolen; and 3. When the defendant attempted to export the stolen motor vehicle, the defendant knew that it was stolen. (Jury Instr., A.R. #161.) To define knowledge, the district court gave what is known as an “ostrich” instruction, referencing situations …

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