CA11 on CIMT: Lauture v. Garland

Lauture v. Garland

"The Board of Immigration Appeals, affirming the decision of an immigration judge, ruled that Emmanuel Lauture was removeable from the United States because his Florida conviction for burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, see Fla. Stat. § 810.02(3)(b), constituted a “crime involving moral turpitude” (a CIMT). Mr. Lauture now petitions for review of the BIA’s decision. Following oral argument and a review of the record, we grant Mr. Lauture’s petition, vacate the BIA’s judgment, and remand for further proceedings. Florida has applied § 810.02(3)(b) to a dwelling which was not occupied prior to or after the entry, see State v. Bennett, 565 So. 2d 803, 805 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990), and that application impacts whether a violation of § 810.02(3)(b) is a CIMT. See Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183, 193 (2007) (the question is whether there is “a realistic probability, not a theoretical possibility, that the State would apply its statute to conduct that falls outside the generic definition” of a “listed crime in a federal statute”). Neither the IJ nor the BIA, however, addressed Mr. Lauture’s argument about the impact of Bennett. The BIA must do so on remand."

[Hats off to appointed counsel Ryan Hedstrom and John Schifino!]