The Ninth Circuit has upheld a deportation order for Emerson Levi Godoy-Aguilar, a permanent resident, affirming the decision that his 2015 conviction under California state law for dissuading a witness matched a federal aggravated felony offense of obstruction of justice.
In a published opinion on Monday, U.S. Circuit Judge Carlos T. Bea ruled that Godoy-Aguilar’s conviction for violating California Penal Code Section 136.1(c)(1), which prohibits knowingly and maliciously preventing a witness or victim from attending or giving testimony in a legal proceeding, was a “categorical match” to the generic federal offense of obstruction of justice under Section 101(a)(43)(S) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Godoy-Aguilar, a native of El Salvador, entered the U.S. as a permanent resident in 2009. In 2015, he pleaded nolo contendere to the state charge of dissuading a witness by force or threat. He was sentenced to a year in Los Angeles County Jail.
Following the conviction, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security charged him with removability, alleging he had committed an aggravated felony under the INA. An immigration judge issued a removal order, which was upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
