Irfan Ahmed v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Filing

UNPUBLISHED OPINION FILED. [14-60903 Vacated and Remanded] Judge: CDK , Judge: JLD , Judge: GJC Mandate pull date is 02/27/2017 [14-60903]

Case: 14-60903

Document: 00513824290

Page: 1

Date Filed: 01/06/2017

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 14-60903
Summary Calendar

United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit

FILED
January 6, 2017
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk

IRFAN AHMED,
Petitioner
v.
LORETTA LYNCH, U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent
Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
BIA No. A078 993 358
Before KING, DENNIS, and COSTA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *

Irfan Ahmed, a native and citizen of Pakistan, petitions for review of a
decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which upheld an order of
an Immigration Judge (IJ) denying his application for adjustment of status and
ordering him removed from the United States. The IJ found that Ahmed was
deportable and that he could not adjust his status because his prior assault
convictions under Texas Penal Code § 22.01(a)(1) were for crimes involving

Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
*

Case: 14-60903

Document: 00513824290

Page: 2

Date Filed: 01/06/2017

No. 14-60903
moral

turpitude

that

made

him

inadmissible

under

8

U.S.C.

§ 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I). Because § 22.01(a)(1) proscribes some forms of assault
that are not morally turpitudinous, the denial of Ahmed’s adjustment
application rested on the modified categorical approach, which the IJ and BIA
used to narrow his prior convictions by reference to state court documents in
accordance with Esparza-Rodriguez v. Holder, 699 F.3d 821, 824-26 (5th Cir.
2012).
In Gomez-Perez v. Lynch, 829 F.3d 323, 328 n.5 (5th Cir. 2016), we
recently held that to the extent Esparza-Rodriguez treated § 22.01(a)(1) as
divisible and thus amenable to modified categorical analysis, it has been
overruled by Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243 (2016). The parties now
agree that remand is warranted. Accordingly, we GRANT the petition for
review, VACATE the decision of the BIA, and REMAND the case for further
consideration of Ahmed’s application for adjustment of status.

2