9th Cir.;
15-70885

The court of appeals affirmed a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals. The court held that the board properly found that a California conviction for murder, based on a theory of aiding and abetting, qualified as an aggravated felony for purposes of removal.

In 1995, Philippine native and citizen Cornelio Dela Cruz Sales was convicted in California of second degree murder under a theory of aiding and abetting. Upon his release, 19 years later, he was placed in removal proceedings. The immigration judge ordered Sales removed based on his conviction for an aggravated felony.