Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions

581 U.S. 385 (2017)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

D is a native and citizen of Mexico. He was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 2000. In 2009, he pleaded no contest in the Superior Court of California to a statutory rape offense: “unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator,” Cal. Penal Code Ann. §261.5(c). California defines a “minor” as “a person under the age of 18 years.” DHS initiated removal proceedings against that conviction. The Immigration Judge concluded that the conviction qualified as “sexual abuse of a minor,” 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(43)(A), and ordered D removed to Mexico. The Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) dismissed his appeal. “For a statutory rape offense involving a 16- or 17-year-old victim” to qualify as “‘sexual abuse of a minor,’” it reasoned, “the statute must require a meaningful age difference between the victim and the perpetrator.” It held that a 3-year age difference required by Cal. Penal Code §261.5(c) was meaningful. A divided Court of Appeals denied review, deferring to the Board’s interpretation of sexual abuse of a minor under Chevron U.S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (2016)