Rachid Leguessir v. Attorney General United States


NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________ No. 19-1879 __________ RACHID LEGUESSIR, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ____________________________________ On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (Agency No. A047 507 223) Immigration Judge: John Ellington ____________________________________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) February 13, 2020 Before: SHWARTZ, RESTREPO and RENDELL, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed February 14, 2020) ___________ O P I N I O N* PER CURIAM Rachid Leguessir, proceeding pro se, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal of a decision of an * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. Immigration Judge (“IJ”) ordering his removal from the United States. For the reasons that follow, we will deny the petition for review. Leguessir is a native and citizen of Morocco. He was admitted to the United States in 2001 as an immigrant. Leguessir was arrested in April 2010 and charged with possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) and other crimes in Pennsylvania state court. He was admitted into Pennsylvania’s Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition (“ARD”) program in July 2010. Upon successful completion of a probationary period, the charges would be expunged. See Gilles v. Davis, 427 F.3d 197, 209 (3d Cir. 2005) (discussing ARD program). Shortly thereafter, Leguessir was arrested and a second set of criminal charges were filed in Pennsylvania state court. In October 2010, he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) and sentenced to time served to twelve months in prison.1 Leguessir was later taken into immigration custody and removal proceedings were initiated. He was granted cancellation of removal in 2011.2 In 2013, an order was issued in Leguessir’s first criminal case terminating him from the ARD program. He pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) in 2016. 1 The IJ’s decision states that Leguessir was convicted in Delaware, but he was convicted in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. 2 The administrative record does not include the record of these proceedings. It is undisputed that Leguessir was granted cancellation of removal. 2 In 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a notice to appear charging that Leguessir was subject to removal for having been convicted of violating a law relating to a controlled substance, other than a single offense involving possession for one’s own use of 30 grams or less of marijuana. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i). The IJ found Leguessir removable based on his 2016 conviction, noted that he had filed no applications for relief, and ordered his removal.3 The BIA dismissed Leguessir’s appeal. The BIA ruled that DHS had established that he was subject to removal based on his 2016 conviction. The BIA applied the modified categorical approach and determined based upon the judgment of sentence that Leguessir was convicted of possessing cocaine, a controlled substance for purposes of the removal statute. The BIA rejected Leguessir’s ...

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