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Keywords

statuteasylumdeportation
statuteappealfelonyasylumdeportation

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Kofa v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Facts

The case involves two petitioners, Lorenzo Nma Kofa and Jorge Samuel Moreno-Duran, both of whom faced deportation due to their convictions for aggravated felonies related to drug offenses. Kofa, a citizen of Liberia, had been convicted of possession and distribution of cocaine, while Moreno, a native of El Salvador and citizen of Panama, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Both petitioners were found to be statutorily ineligible for withholding of deportation or asylum based on their criminal records.

Case Number 92-1246 concerns Lorenzo Nma Kofa, who is a twenty-three year old citizen of Liberia who has lived in the United States since 1980. He faces deportation to Liberia because of his two 1990 Maryland state law convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute the same, and for distribution of cocaine. Both of these convictions are aggravated felonies.

Issue

Whether 8 U.S.C. 1253(h)(2)(B) requires a separate determination of dangerousness to the community in the case of an aggravated felon.

The sole issue in these consolidated cases is whether 8 U.S.C. 1253(h)(2)(B), which authorizes withholding of deportation, requires a separate determination of dangerousness to the community in the case of an aggravated felon.

Rule

A conviction for a particularly serious crime constitutes a danger to the community, making the individual ineligible for withholding of deportation or asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1253(h)(2)(B).

The Board of Immigration Appeals has interpreted subsection (B) to mean that if it determines that the alien has been convicted of a particularly serious crime, the alien is, necessarily, a danger to the community of the United States and is therefore ineligible for withholding of deportation.

Analysis

The court applied the rule by interpreting the language of the statute, concluding that once an individual is convicted of a particularly serious crime, they are automatically considered a danger to the community. The court found that the statute did not require a separate finding of dangerousness, as the conviction itself sufficed to establish ineligibility for withholding of deportation or asylum.

We think the meaning of the statute is plain. We agree with the view of the INS that the alien constitutes a danger to the community because he has been convicted of a particularly serious crime, so once the particularly serious crime determination is made, the alien is ineligible for withholding without a separate finding on dangerousness.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the orders of deportation, holding that the petitioners, having been convicted of aggravated felonies, were ineligible for withholding of deportation or asylum.

The court affirmed the orders, finding the language in the subject statutes to be clear and unambiguous in stating that petitioners, each having been convicted of an aggravated felony, were considered to have committed particularly serious crimes, constituted a danger to the community of the United States, and were ineligible for withholding of deportation or asylum.

Who won?

The United States INS prevailed in the case, as the court upheld the deportation orders based on the clear statutory language regarding aggravated felonies and their implications for community safety.

The INS filed an interlocutory appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, taking the position that because he had been convicted of a particularly serious crime, Kofa was statutorily ineligible under 8 U.S.C. 1253(h)(2)(B) to apply for withholding of deportation.

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