9th Cir.;
13-72185

The court of appeals denied a petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals. The court held that the petitioner's Arizona misdemeanor domestic violence assault conviction rendered him removable.

In 2008, lawful permanent resident Jose Cornejo-Villagrana pleaded guilty in Arizona to “Assault, a Domestic Violence Offense Class 1 misdemeanor.” In the plea transcript, Cornejo admitted that he and his wife were fighting, and that as she was “going down the hallway,” he “either punched or pushed her in the back of the head…with the intention to insult or provoke her…” The Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings, and an immigration judge determined that Cornejo's conviction qualified as a crime of domestic violence under the modified categorical approach and sustained the charge of removability. The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that determination.