Ramon MacIas-carreon v. Eric Holder, Jr., 716 F.3d 1286

Macias-Carreon, a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the U.S. in 1988 without inspection or parole.
In 1992, Macias-Carreon pled guilty to violating Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11359 and received 120 days’ imprisonment plus three years’ probation.
§ 11359 criminalizes possession for sale of marijuana.
In 2007, DHS served a Notice to Appear charging removability for present without admission/parole and for a crime relating to a controlled substance based on the 1992 conviction.
The BIA held § 11359 is categorically a crime relating to a controlled substance; Macias-Carreon petitioned for review asserting divisibility and other arguments.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 11359 is categorically a crime relating to a controlled substance for immigration purposes.	Macias-Carreon argues the statute is divisible and could apply to non-controlled-substance offenses.	Government contends § 11359 is not divisible and prohibitions on possession for sale of marijuana fall within a controlled-substance offense.	Yes; § 11359 is categorically a crime relating to a controlled substance.
Whether § 11359 is a divisible statute that could avoid immigration-relating grounds.	Macias-Carreon contends the provision could reach non-controlled-substance conduct.	Government maintains the statute is not divisible in a way that avoids the immigration ground.	No; the statute is not shown to apply to non-controlled-substance conduct.

Sanchez-Avalos v. Holder, 693 F.3d 1011 (9th Cir. 2012) (categorical approach governs immigration-relating determinations)
Gonzalez-Cervantes v. Holder, 709 F.3d 1265 (9th Cir. 2013) (realistic probability standard for real-world application)
Nunez v. Holder, 594 F.3d 1124 (9th Cir. 2010) (de novo review of BIA interpretation of statute of conviction)
United States v. Sandoval-Venegas, 292 F.3d 1101 (9th Cir. 2002) (§ 11359 categorically a controlled-substance offense for sentencing purposes)