Matter of Y-L-
Attorney General
23 I & N Dec. 270 (2002)
Y-L- and A-G- (respondents), convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to under five years, sought deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture; Y-L- feared torture from a Haitian death squad that had killed family members, and A-G- feared retaliation from associates of a drug supplier he'd helped law enforcement arrest in Jamaica. The Board found their crimes, despite qualifying as aggravated felonies, weren't particularly serious crimes barring withholding of deportation; the Attorney General reviewed the Board's decisions.
Whether an aggravated felony resulting in a sentence of less than five years is not presumed to be a particularly serious crime, and whether the Convention Against Torture applies to aliens who may be tortured by private parties if deported.