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)

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

The court's holding and decision will be displayed here.

Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.