Rafael De La Cruz Leon-Davila v. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Executive Office for Immigration Review

19 F.3d 1370, 1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 7823

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Decided: April 15, 1994
• Docket: 93-4597
• Status: Published

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

The sole issue before the Court is whether the Board of Immigration Appeals (the “BIA”) properly reversed the decision of the immigration judge granting the petitioner’s application for relief from deportation pursuant to § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(c), upon finding that the. petitioner was statutorily ineligible for relief from deportation because, at the time of its review, he was an alien who had been convicted of an aggravated felony and who had served a term of imprisonment of at least 5 years for such felony. The BIA had independent power to decide the ease and to conduct de novo review of the record and proceedings. See 8 C.F.R. § 3.1(d). Accordingly, we affirm the BIA’s reversal of the immigration judge’s decision. 1

AFFIRMED.

1 . In light of the disposition of the petition, the petitioner's motion for a stay of deportation pending resolution of petition for review is denied.