NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT APR 02 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
LORENZO LEDEZMA-SANDOVAL, No. 05-77082
Petitioner, Agency No. A017-985-714
v.
MEMORANDUM*
ERIC H. HOLDER Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Argued and Submitted December 4, 2006
San Francisco, California
Before: D.W. NELSON and BERZON, Circuit Judges, and COWEN, Judge.**
Lorenzo Ledezma-Sandoval petitions for review of a decision of the Board
of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing his appeal of a final order of removal.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The Honorable Robert E. Cowen, Senior United States Circuit Judge
for the Third Circuit, sitting by designation.
The BIA erred in holding that Ledezma was removable as an aggravated
felon by reason of his conviction for second-degree murder in 1981 because “8
U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) [providing that an alien convicted of an aggravated
felony is deportable] does not apply to convictions . . . that occurred prior to
November 18, 1988.” Ledezma-Galicia v. Holder, No. 03-73648, 2010 WL
1172469, at *16 (9th Cir. Mar. 29, 2010). Because we hold that the 1981
conviction cannot serve as a basis for removal, we do not reach Ledezma’s
alternative arguments regarding his eligibility for a waiver of that ground of
removal.
We grant the petition and remand to the BIA for further proceedings.
PETITION FOR REVIEW GRANTED; REMANDED.
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