Bangs v. Blanche

Summary

The First Circuit granted Ishmael Koigor Bangs' petition for review and vacated the Board of Immigration Appeals' decision that his New Hampshire witness-retaliation conviction was an aggravated felony relating to obstruction of justice. Applying the categorical approach, the court held that the generic federal offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(S) requires a specific intent to interfere with legal process, while N.H. Rev. Stat. § 641:5(II) criminalizes retaliatory acts that may be motivated by pure revenge, as the New Hampshire Supreme Court's decision in State v. Baird confirms. Because the state statute covers more conduct than the generic offense, Bangs is not removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), and the court declined to reach the BIA's reversal of his Convention Against Torture deferral of removal.