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08-73846•Ricardo Zavala-Ramirez, a.k.a. Ricardo Zavala-Rocha v. ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General
08-73846Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitSep 24, 2010
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent*
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision**
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
RICARDO ZAVALA-RAMIREZ, a.k.a.
Ricardo Zavala-Rocha,
Petitioner,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, Jr., Attorney General,
Respondent.
No. 08-73846
Agency No. A036-624-144
MEMORANDUM*
On Petition for Review of an Order of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Submitted September 13, 2010
Before: SILVERMAN, CALLAHAN, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Ricardo Zavala-Ramirez, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review
of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ order dismissing his appeal from an
immigration judge’s removal order. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252.
FILED
SEP 24 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U .S. C OU R T OF APPE ALS
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08-73846 2
We review de novo questions of law, Cazarez-Gutierrez v. Ashcroft, 382 F.3d 905,
909 (9th Cir. 2004), and for substantial evidence the agency’s factual findings,
Solis-Espinoza v. Gonzales, 401 F.3d 1090, 1092 (9th Cir. 2005). We deny the
petition for review.
Zavala-Ramirez’s conviction for violating Cal. Health and Safety Code
§ 11378 is an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B). See Cazarez-
Gutierrez, 382 F.3d at 919 (a state drug offense is an aggravated felony for
immigration purposes if it contains a trafficking element). Contrary to Zavala-
Ramirez’s contention, the record of conviction establishes that he was convicted of
selling methamphetamine. See Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13, 16 (2005)
(charging document and transcript of plea colloquy may be used for modified
categorical analysis).
The agency properly denied Zavala-Ramirez’s claim to derivative
citizenship where Zavala-Ramirez’s United States citizen mother testified that she
was not physically present in the United States for the requisite five years after
turning 14 in order to pass citizenship to Zavala-Ramirez. See 8 U.S.C.
§ 1401(a)(7) (1959) (a person shall be a citizen of the United States at birth who is
“born outside the geographical limits of the United States . . . of parents one of
whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth
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08-73846 3
of such person, was physically present in the United States . . . for a period or
periods totaling not less than ten years, at least five of which were after attaining
the age of fourteen years”). It follows that Zavala-Ramirez’s due process claim
fails. See Lata v. INS, 204 F.3d 1241, 1246 (9th Cir. 2000) (requiring error to
prevail on a due process claim).
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED.
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