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Keywords

statuteappealfelony
statuteplea

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Esquivel-Quintana, Matter of

Facts

Juan Esquivel-Quintana, a lawful permanent resident from Mexico, was convicted in California for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who was more than three years younger than him, specifically involving a 17-year-old. The Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings against him based on this conviction, which was deemed to qualify as 'sexual abuse of a minor' under the INA by an Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals. The case was subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court.

Petitioner Juan Esquivel-Quintana 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. �1.5(c) (West 2014); see also �1.5(a) ('Unlawful sexual intercourse is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person is a minor').

Issue

Whether a conviction under a state statute criminalizing consensual sexual intercourse between a 21-year-old and a 17-year-old qualifies as sexual abuse of a minor under the INA.

Whether a conviction under a state statute criminalizing consensual sexual intercourse between a 21-year-old and a 17-year-old qualified as sexual abuse of a minor under the INA.

Rule

The generic federal definition of 'sexual abuse of a minor' under 8 U.S.C.S. 1101(a)(43)(A) requires that the victim be less than 16 years of age for the offense to qualify as sexual abuse of a minor.

In the context of statutory rape offenses focused solely on the age of the participants, the generic federal definition of 'sexual abuse of a minor' under 8 U.S.C.S. 1101(a)(43)(A) required the age of the victim to be less than 16.

Analysis

The Court applied a categorical approach to determine whether the California statute under which Esquivel-Quintana was convicted fell within the federal definition of sexual abuse of a minor. It concluded that the statute criminalized consensual sexual intercourse involving a victim who was at least 17 years old, which does not meet the federal requirement that the victim must be under 16. Therefore, the Court found that the conviction did not constitute an aggravated felony under the INA.

Because Cal. Penal Code 261.5(c) criminalizes 'unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator' and defines a minor as someone under age 18, the conduct criminalized under this provision would be, at a minimum, consensual sexual intercourse between a victim who is almost 18 and a perpetrator who just turned 21.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision, ruling that Esquivel-Quintana's conviction did not qualify as sexual abuse of a minor under the INA.

We agree with petitioner that, in the context of statutory rape offenses that criminalize sexual intercourse based solely on the age of the participants, the generic federal definition of sexual abuse of a minor requires that the victim be younger than 16.

Who won?

Juan Esquivel-Quintana prevailed in the case because the Supreme Court determined that his conviction did not meet the federal definition of sexual abuse of a minor.

Petitioner does not contend that the definition in 2243 includes an age of consent of 16, at least in the context of statutory rape offenses predicated solely on the age of the participants.

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