Matter of Silva-Trevino
Attorney General of the United States
24 I. & N. Dec. 687 (2008)
Cristoval Silva-Trevino (respondent), a Mexican-born permanent U.S. resident since 1962, pleaded no contest to a Texas 'indecency with a child' felony in 2004; DHS sought his removal as an aggravated felon, and after an immigration judge ordered him removed, stripping his permanent resident status, Silva-Trevino sought discretionary relief through adjustment of status, arguing his conviction wasn't a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). The immigration judge denied relief, but the BIA reversed, and Attorney General Gonzales directed the BIA to refer the matter to him for review.
Whether, to qualify as a crime involving moral turpitude under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a crime must involve both reprehensible conduct and some degree of scienter, whether specific intent, deliberateness, willfulness, or recklessness.