quick reference chart and annotations for determining immigration ...

Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project,
Maricopa County Public Defender August 2012
crime of child abuse even though no proof of actual harm or injury to the child is required). However,
Matter of Soram may be in conflict with the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Pacheco-Fregozo v. Holder, 576
F.3d 1030 (9th Cir. 2009), which held that a statute that includes only the possibility of harm, with no
actual physical or emotional injury, does not categorically fall within the definition of a “crime of child
abuse.” See Jimenez-Juarez v. Holder, 635 F.3d 1169, n.2 (9th Cir. 2011) (upholding Pacheco-Fregozo
post-Soram). Defense counsel should conservatively advise that any plea to A6 will be removable as a
crime of child abuse but attempt to plead to language that avoids any reference to actual harm or injury to
the victim.
Other Grounds: Firearms. Where firearms is an element of the statute (e.g., A9(a)), or where a
weapon is an element and the record of conviction identifies the weapon as a firearm (e.g., A2), the
offense will cause deportability under the firearms ground. See Note: Firearms.
13. Unlawfully Administering Intoxicating Liquors, Narcotic Drugs or Dangerous Drugs, ARS §
13-1205
A person commits unlawfully administering intoxicating liquors, a narcotic drug or dangerous drug if, for
a purpose other than lawful medical or therapeutic treatment, such person knowingly introduces or causes
to be introduced into the body of another person, without such person’s consent, intoxicating liquors, a
narcotic drug or dangerous drug. This is a class 6 felony, except it is a class 5 felony if the victim is a
minor.
This may be a useful alternate to a sexual offense or drug crime.
Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CMT): Assume yes, although no case law on point.
Aggravated Felony: Not as a drug offense; administration of drugs does not appear as a federal
controlled substance offense. Conceivably DHS would charge it as a crime of violence, as an offense that
is likely to lead to use of force, so avoid 365 day sentence.
Other Grounds: Controlled Substance: This conviction will make a person deportable and
inadmissible as a controlled substance offense only if the record of conviction specifies that the offense
involved a drug, rather than alcohol. Defense counsel should plead to alcohol or at least leave the record
vague between alcohol and controlled substances.
In theory, a conviction is only removable as a controlled substance offense if the drug is
identified as a federally recognized controlled substance in the record of conviction. However, some
unpublished BIA decisions have held that, even though the Arizona controlled substance schedule
contains drugs that do not appear on the federal schedule, the Arizona legislature “intended to” track the
federal list of illegal drugs such that an Arizona drug conviction is removable regardless of whether a
controlled substance is identified. See In Re: Ramon Roberto Huerta-Flores A.K.A. Roberto Huerta, :
A092 444 014 - ELO, 2010 WL 5808899 (BIA Aug. 27, 2010). Therefore, counsel should try to leave
the record vague as to what controlled substance was involved but should not assume that a controlled
substance conviction with an unidentified drug will be safe.
14. Dangerous or deadly assault by prisoner or juvenile, ARS § 13-1206
A person, while in the custody of the state department of corrections, the department of juvenile
corrections, a law enforcement agency or a county or city jail, who commits an assault involving the
Arizona Criminal Chart with Explanatory Endnote – August 2012
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