Windell Javillonar Retuta v. Holder ( 2010 )


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  •                     FOR PUBLICATION
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    WINDELL JAVILLONAR RETUTA,                
    Petitioner,               No. 04-74855
    
    v.                                  Agency No.
    A43-380-112
    ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., Attorney
    General,                                            OPINION
    Respondent.
    
    On Petition for Review of an Order of the
    Board of Immigration Appeals
    Argued and Submitted
    October 6, 2009—Pasadena, California
    Filed January 7, 2010
    Before: William A. Fletcher and Richard R. Clifton,
    Circuit Judges, and Louis H. Pollak,* District Judge.
    Opinion by Judge Louis H. Pollak
    *The Honorable Louis H. Pollak, Senior United States District Judge
    for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation.
    497
    500                   RETUTA v. HOLDER
    COUNSEL
    James Todd Bennett, El Cerrito, California, for the petitioner.
    Bryan Stuart Beier, US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
    Washington, D.C., for the respondent.
    OPINION
    POLLAK, District Judge:
    Windell Javillonar Retuta petitions for review of a decision
    of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the
    Immigration Judge’s (IJ) order that Retuta was removable
    under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i) because he had been con-
    victed of a controlled substance violation.
    RETUTA v. HOLDER                     501
    In addressing Retuta’s petition, we consider two issues
    relating to the government proving a “conviction” to establish
    an alien’s removability. First, we determine whether the min-
    ute order that the government relied on, which contained acro-
    nyms, is sufficiently clear evidence of a criminal conviction
    in removal proceedings, in light of our recent en banc deci-
    sion in United States v. Snellenberger, 
    548 F.3d 699
    (9th Cir.
    2008), that found minute orders sufficient evidence of a con-
    viction during federal sentencing proceedings. Second, turn-
    ing to the substance of the conviction at issue, we must
    determine whether the definition of a “conviction” in 8 U.S.C.
    § 1101(a)(48) includes a judgment that withholds an adjudica-
    tion of guilt and imposes a sanction other than incarceration—
    namely a small fine—and simultaneously suspends or stays
    execution of that sanction. Section 1101(a)(48) defines “con-
    viction” to include proceedings where a formal judgment of
    guilt has been withheld provided that (1) there has been a
    finding of guilt or admission of sufficient facts for a finding
    of guilt, and (2) “some form of punishment, penalty, or
    restraint on the alien’s liberty” has been imposed. 8 U.S.C.
    § 1101(a)(48)(A). The definition clarifies that suspended peri-
    ods of incarceration must be considered, 
    id. § 1101(a)(48)(B),
    but does not address whether immigration consequences
    attach to the suspension of non-incarceratory punishments.
    I.   Background
    Windell Javillonar Retuta is a twenty-seven-year-old citi-
    zen and national of the Philippines who was admitted into the
    United States as a lawful permanent resident alien on June 5,
    1992. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) served
    Retuta with a Notice to Appear (NTA) on December 15,
    2003, alleging multiple grounds for removal. On January 7,
    2004, DHS amended the NTA to bring the total allegations of
    prior convictions sufficient for removal to four. DHS alleged
    that Retuta was convicted of (1) buying stolen property, in
    violation of § 496(a) of the California Penal Code, (2) posses-
    sion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, in violation
    502                    RETUTA v. HOLDER
    of § 11377(a) of the California Health and Safety Code, (3)
    use of a controlled substance, in violation of § 11550 of the
    California Health and Safety Code, and (4) domestic battery,
    in violation of § 242 and § 243(e) of the California Penal
    Code.
    During removal proceedings before the IJ, the Government
    chose to proceed only on the controlled substances violations
    and rejected the opportunity to delay the proceedings in order
    to submit documentation that would support the other
    charges. The IJ addressed only the alleged conviction on
    March 11, 2002 for (1) possession of a controlled substance,
    methamphetamine, and (2) use of a controlled substance.
    Retuta argued that the minute order offered to prove this con-
    viction was insufficient because the order was incomprehensi-
    ble due to unexplained acronyms. The IJ determined that the
    minute order and criminal complaint sufficiently proved the
    fact of Retuta’s conviction and, thus, DHS had met its burden
    of proving Retuta removable by clear and convincing evi-
    dence. The IJ further stated that because Retuta had previ-
    ously been granted cancellation of removal and because the
    conviction at issue occurred after the cancellation of removal,
    he was not eligible for a second cancellation of removal.
    Based on his new controlled substance violations, Retuta was
    ordered removed to the Philippines.
    On August 26, 2004, Retuta filed an appeal with the Board
    of Immigration Appeals. Retuta argued to the BIA that: (1)
    the minute order was insufficient to sustain the charge of
    removal; (2) the controlled substances violations only resulted
    in a stayed fine that did not rise to the level of a “punishment,
    penalty or restraint on [his] liberty” under 8 U.S.C.
    § 1101(a)(48)(A)(ii); and (3) Retuta’s conviction for posses-
    sion and use of a controlled substance might be entitled to
    expungement under a state equivalent to the Federal First
    Offender Act (FFOA), 18 U.S.C § 3607.
    The BIA dismissed the appeal. The BIA ruled that the min-
    ute order and criminal complaint established that Retuta had
    RETUTA v. HOLDER                       503
    pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a controlled
    substance. The BIA did not refer to the additional count con-
    tained in the minute order of use of a controlled substance.
    The BIA also ruled that a fine, even if suspended, is a “pun-
    ishment” within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48)(A)(ii).
    Lastly, it found that Retuta’s prior drug convictions rendered
    him ineligible for relief from removal under the provisions of
    the FFOA.
    In making its determination that Retuta pled guilty to pos-
    session of methamphetamine, the BIA examined the minute
    order, which contains numerous abbreviations without any
    key to decode them. The minute order is a preprinted form
    with various boxes and blanks. The order has the boxes
    checked for “Atty Present,” “COP PLEADS,” “GUILTY,”
    “DEJ Granted,” and “FINE STAYED.” “DRF” is circled with
    $100 written next to it. The BIA stated that the minute order,
    though perhaps “confusing,” was “not incomprehensible” and
    was sufficiently informative to establish that Retuta had pled
    guilty to possession of a controlled substance. The BIA found
    the document proved that Retuta pled guilty to possession of
    a controlled substance with a deferred entry of judgment and
    a suspended fine.
    To find that a stayed fine constituted a “conviction” within
    the meaning of section 1101(a)(48), the BIA concluded that
    “[t]he imposition of a fine, regardless of if it is stayed, consti-
    tutes some form of punishment.” To support this position, the
    BIA cited its prior decision in Matter of Ozkok, 19 I. & N.
    Dec. 546 (BIA 1988), for the proposition that a “suspended
    fine [is] sufficient to find the existence of a conviction.”
    The BIA also decided that Retuta could not take advantage
    of the FFOA, which allows a single conviction for possession
    of a controlled substance to be expunged, thus not rendering
    an immigrant removable. In determining whether Retuta’s
    conviction qualified under the FFOA, the BIA relied upon a
    computer printout of Retuta’s criminal history, commonly
    504                        RETUTA v. HOLDER
    referred to as a rap sheet. The rap sheet shows other convic-
    tions for possession of a controlled substance.
    II.        Jurisdiction and Standard of Review
    This court has jurisdiction to review a final order of
    removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a). A court of appeals reviews
    questions of law de novo. Chuyon Yon Hong v. Mukasey, 
    518 F.3d 1030
    , 1034 (9th Cir. 2008). Questions of law include
    “not only ‘pure’ issues of statutory interpretation, but also
    application of law to undisputed facts, sometimes referred to
    as mixed questions of law and fact.” Ramadan v. Gonzales,
    
    479 F.3d 646
    , 648 (9th Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (citations
    omitted). The government bears the burden of proving by
    clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that the alien is
    removable. Ruiz-Vidal v. Gonzales, 
    473 F.3d 1072
    , 1076 (9th
    Cir. 2007).
    III.       Discussion
    A.     Was the Minute Order Sufficient Proof of the Outcome
    of the State Court Proceedings?
    Retuta argues that the minute order used to prove his 2002
    conviction for possession of a controlled substance was insuf-
    ficient to prove the fact of his conviction by the required
    clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence standard because
    the minute order contains several unexplained acronyms. The
    BIA addressed this argument and noted that “[a]lthough the
    document may be confusing, it is not incomprehensible and
    it contains sufficient information to determine that the respon-
    dent pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance under
    section 11377(a) of the California Health and Safety Code.”
    We find that the BIA did not err in its conclusion.
    [1] First, the INA makes clear that “[o]fficial minutes of a
    court proceeding” are sufficient “proof of a criminal convic-
    tion.” 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(3)(B)(iv). Additionally, in United
    RETUTA v. HOLDER                             505
    States v. Snellenberger, 
    548 F.3d 699
    (9th Cir. 2008) (en
    banc), this court recently addressed the analogous question of
    whether a California state court minute order sufficiently
    proved a conviction, resulting in a career offender sentencing
    enhancement. There, we held that the minute order described
    the conviction with sufficient reliability that it could be used
    for sentencing. 
    Id. at 702.
    [2] The minute order here does not present enough ambigu-
    ity to prevent us from applying Snellenberger in the context
    of proving a conviction in immigration proceedings. While
    the minute order would be clearer with an explanation of its
    acronyms, it contains standard terms that support a conclusion
    that Retuta was convicted of possession of a controlled sub-
    stance.1 The minute order has boxes checked for “PLEADS,”
    “GUILTY,” and “DEJ Granted.” Under “Violation” the order
    states that “HS11377(A)” was Count Two. The record con-
    tains the criminal complaint, which lists possession of a con-
    trolled substance in violation of § 11377(a) of the California
    Health and Safety Code as Count Two. One does not need a
    definition of the terms used to conclude that Retuta pled
    guilty and received a deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) for
    violation of California laws relating to the possession of a
    controlled substance.
    [3] Similarly, the minute order sufficiently states Retuta’s
    sentence. The minute order lists “$100” after circling “DRF.”
    Retuta argued that the minute order does not make clear
    whether the $100 listed was for a fine, fee, or civil restitution.2
    1
    Because the BIA’s opinion does not explicitly incorporate the IJ’s
    determination that Retuta was also convicted of one count of use of a con-
    trolled substance, we do not address that determination.
    2
    The government in a Rule 28(j) letter claimed that Matter of Cabrera,
    24 I. & N. Dec. 459 (BIA 2008), rendered irrelevant whether the amount
    was for a fine, fee, or restitution, as all may be considered punitive by the
    BIA. In Cabrera, the BIA found that mandatory costs were a “punish-
    ment” or “penalty,” and indicated restitution to be the same. 
    Id. at 461-62.
    We need not decide whether we must give deference to BIA’s decision in
    Cabrera that costs or restitution are sufficiently punitive to be a “punish-
    ment” or “penalty,” as the minute order clearly states the amount involved
    to be a fine.
    506                     RETUTA v. HOLDER
    While that alone could be ambiguous, the order seven lines
    below states “FINE STAYED 5-31-02.” Like any other
    record of a sentence, we must give the term “fine” its logical
    meaning, a monetary sanction. A judge preparing any judicial
    document, be it a minute order or a published opinion, would
    likely not feel the need to clarify the term “fine.” Thus, we
    conclude that the minute order adequately proves that Retuta
    pled guilty and received a sentence of a stayed fine. However,
    the conclusion that the government adequately proved what
    occurred during the criminal proceedings of March 11, 2002
    does not compel us to find Retuta can be removed. The min-
    ute order proves that Retuta pled guilty to violating California
    law, but it does not show, without more, that this violation
    resulted in a “conviction” under the Immigration and Nation-
    ality Act.
    B.    Does the Definition of “Conviction” in 8 U.S.C.
    § 1101(a)(48) Include Deferred Entry of Judgment
    Where the Sentence is a Stayed Fine?
    For his second argument, Retuta challenges the BIA’s con-
    clusion that a deferred entry of judgment, where the only con-
    sequence is a stayed fine, constitutes a “conviction” as
    defined under the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48). The BIA
    rejected Retuta’s argument by relying on its own decision in
    Matter of Ozkok, 19 I. & N. Dec. 546 (BIA 1988), which pre-
    ceded Congress’s 1996 codification of a definition of “convic-
    tion.”
    [4] Congress amended Title 8 in the Illegal Immigrant
    Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA)
    to define what characteristics a criminal judgment must have
    before it qualifies as a “conviction” under the INA. Section
    1101(a)(48) provides:
    (A) The term “conviction” means, with respect to an
    alien, a formal judgment of guilt of the alien entered
    RETUTA v. HOLDER                       507
    by a court or, if adjudication of guilt has been with-
    held, where—
    i) a judge or jury has found the alien guilty
    or the alien has entered a plea of guilty or
    nolo contendere or has admitted sufficient
    facts to warrant a finding of guilt, and
    (ii) the judge has ordered some form of
    punishment, penalty, or restraint on the
    alien’s liberty to be imposed.
    (B) Any reference to a term of imprisonment or a
    sentence with respect to an offense is deemed to
    include the period of incarceration or confinement
    ordered by a court of law regardless of any suspen-
    sion of the imposition or execution of that imprison-
    ment or sentence in whole or in part.
    8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48). Thus, the government must show two
    things when a formal adjudication of guilt has been withheld:
    (1) a finding of guilt or sufficient facts to support such a find-
    ing, and (2) some punishment, penalty, or restraint on liberty
    (which includes suspended incarceratory sentences).
    [5] Prior to the 1996 Amendment, the INA did not define
    the elements of a conviction. The issue was instead governed
    by the BIA’s decision in Matter of Ozkok, which Congress, in
    passing IIRIRA in 1996, intended partially to adopt and par-
    tially to overrule. H.R. Rep. No. 104-828, at 224 (1996)
    (Conf. Rep.). The BIA in Ozkok had established a three-part-
    test for determining if there is a “conviction”:
    (1) a judge or jury has found the alien guilty or he
    has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or has
    admitted sufficient facts to warrant a finding of
    guilty;
    508                     RETUTA v. HOLDER
    (2) the judge has ordered some form of punishment,
    penalty, or restraint on the person’s liberty to be
    imposed (including but not limited to incarceration,
    probation, a fine or restitution, or community-based
    sanctions such as a rehabilitation program, a work-
    release or study-release program, revocation or sus-
    pension of a driver’s license, deprivation of nones-
    sential activities or privileges, or community
    service); and
    (3) a judgment or adjudication of guilt may be
    entered if the person violates the terms of his proba-
    tion or fails to comply with the requirements of the
    court’s order, without availability of further proceed-
    ings regarding the person’s guilt or innocence of the
    original charge.
    Matter of Ozkok, 19 I. & N. Dec. 546, 551-52 (BIA 1988).
    The IIRIRA Amendment to the INA expanded on what cate-
    gories of deferred adjudications can constitute convictions:
    Without question, the new definition eliminated the
    distinction between the different types of deferred
    adjudication statutes set forth in the third prong of
    the Ozkok definition. It is clear that Congress
    intended the new definition to mean, generally, that
    a conviction occurs prior to the time the probationary
    period begins in cases processed under state deferred
    adjudication laws, regardless of whether the state
    statute requires further proceedings prior to the for-
    mal entry of a judgment of conviction in the event of
    a probation violation.
    Lujan-Armendariz v. I.N.S., 
    222 F.3d 728
    , 742 (9th Cir.
    2000). In Lujan-Armendariz, we noted that “Congress
    adopted verbatim the first two sub-parts of the Ozkok defini-
    tion.” 
    Id. RETUTA v.
    HOLDER                      509
    1.   Is there Binding Agency Precedent On-Point,
    Requiring Our Deference?
    [6] The BIA’s opinion and the government on appeal both
    argue that this case must be resolved by deferring to the
    BIA’s opinion in Matter of Ozkok. This court must give defer-
    ence under Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources
    Defense Council, Inc., 
    467 U.S. 837
    (1984), to the “agency’s
    construction of the statute [that] it administers.” Hernandez-
    Guadarrama v. Ashcroft, 
    394 F.3d 674
    , 678 (9th Cir. 2005).
    However, in order to be entitled to Chevron deference, the
    agency’s construction must have been issued in “binding
    agency precedent on-point (either in the form of a regulation
    or a published BIA case).” Kyung Park v. Holder, 
    572 F.3d 619
    , 623-24 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotations and citations
    omitted). Two factors require us to conclude that Ozkok is not
    “binding agency precedent on-point.” First, Congress enacted
    the IIRIRA Amendment subsequent to Ozkok, so the language
    of Ozkok is no longer binding, at least insofar as it is not con-
    sistent with the text of the IIRIRA Amendment. Second,
    Ozkok did not address the particular situation present here—
    namely, whether a suspended fine is sufficient punishment to
    satisfy the definition of conviction. Ozkok addressed the
    imposition of probation and the actual enforcement of non-
    incarceratory penalties, but not the “imposition” of suspended
    non-incarceratory penalties. See Ozkok, 19 I. & N. Dec. at
    551-553.
    The government, in a Rule 28(j) letter of September 25,
    2009 to the court, argues that the BIA’s opinion in Matter of
    Cabrera, 24 I. & N. Dec. 459 (BIA 2008), removed any doubt
    that Retuta was “convicted” in the meaning of section
    1101(a)(48). However, Cabrera, like Ozkok, only addresses
    sanctions actually imposed—in that instance, $458 in manda-
    tory costs and surcharges, which it found to be a “punish-
    ment” or “penalty.” 
    Id. at 460.
    The opinion does at one point
    obliquely suggest that the fact that there must be consider-
    ation of ability to pay before enforcing collection of costs
    510                    RETUTA v. HOLDER
    imposed on Cabrera “does not mean their imposition is not a
    punishment.” 
    Id. at 462.
    Even if we were to accept, arguendo,
    the contention that the statute can permissibly be construed to
    regard the imposition of a small monetary sanction as a “pun-
    ishment” or “penalty,” Cabrera would not guide our decision
    here, since Retuta’s fine was entirely stayed without specifi-
    cation of any conditions on the stay. Thus, Chevron does not
    dictate our determination of what, in the present context, the
    statute must be taken to mean. We must construe the statute
    for ourselves.
    2.   Does the Definition of “Conviction” Exclude Judg-
    ments Where the Sentence is the Suspension of a
    Non-Incarceratory Sanction?
    Retuta claims that, because the text of 8 U.S.C.
    § 1101(a)(48) specifically includes suspended periods of
    incarceration, it was intended to also exclude suspended sen-
    tences that do not involve a prison sentence. See 8 U.S.C.
    § 1101(a)(48)(B). The government, at oral argument, con-
    tended that the definition of “conviction” includes non-
    incarceratory suspended sentences because § 1101(a)(48)(B)
    should not be read to modify the preceding subsection. The
    government argues that subsection (B) was intended for the
    limited purpose of clarifying that, when immigration conse-
    quences attach to a period of incarceration, the entire sentence
    should be used, even if part of the period of incarceration has
    been suspended. According to the government, because sub-
    section (B) was intended for this purpose it should not be read
    to limit the preceding subsection.
    When dealing with a matter of statutory interpretation,
    “ ‘we look first to the plain language of the statute, construing
    the provisions of the entire law, including its object and pol-
    icy, to ascertain the intent of Congress.’ ” United States v.
    Mohrbacher, 
    182 F.3d 1041
    , 1048 (9th Cir. 1999) (quoting
    Nw. Forest Res. Council v. Glickman, 
    82 F.3d 825
    , 830 (9th
    Cir. 1996)).
    RETUTA v. HOLDER                              511
    Our reading of § 1101(a)(48) leads us to conclude that the
    definition of “conviction” does not include criminal judg-
    ments whose only consequence is a suspended non-
    incarceratory sanction. Our reading of subsection (A) and of
    subsection (B) confirms that an unconditional non-
    incarceratory suspended sanction cannot be a predicate for a
    “conviction.”
    [7] The text of subsection (A) does not include suspended
    non-incarceratory punishments. Congress placed the provision
    in section 1101, which contains an exhaustive list of defini-
    tions for use in construing the INA. Subsection (A)(ii)
    requires a “conviction” to have some punitive aspect by man-
    dating that “the judge has ordered some form of punishment,
    penalty, or restraint on the alien’s liberty to be imposed.”
    Congress adopted this exact phrasing from the BIA’s Ozkok
    opinion. Ozkok, 19 I. & N. Dec. at 551-52. At the same time
    Congress omitted a list of exemplars included in Ozkok. We
    must conclude that Congress intentionally omitted the exem-
    plars, which included several minor sanctions such as “revo-
    cation or suspension of a driver’s license, deprivation of
    nonessential activities or privileges, or community service.”3
    The minute order here required less from petitioner Retuta
    than any of the exemplars in the Ozkok opinion that Congress
    chose not to adopt. In fact, the minute order requires nothing
    of Retuta. He suffered no loss of wealth, nor loss of liberty.
    3
    The BIA’s second prong read in its entirety: “the judge has ordered
    some form of punishment, penalty, or restraint on the person’s liberty to
    be imposed (including but not limited to incarceration, probation, a fine
    or restitution, or community-based sanctions such as a rehabilitation pro-
    gram, a work-release or study-release program, revocation or suspension
    of a driver’s license, deprivation of nonessential activities or privileges, or
    community service).” Matter of Ozkok, 19 I. & N. Dec. 546, 551-52 (BIA
    1988). Congress appears not to have been the only body that found attach-
    ing removability to minor sanctions troublesome. See Romero v. Holder,
    
    568 F.3d 1054
    , 1058 (9th Cir. 2009) (noting that the IJ found that requir-
    ing enrollment in a three-month AIDS education program was not a “form
    of punishment, penalty, or restraint on the alien’s liberty”).
    512                    RETUTA v. HOLDER
    Finding the suspended fine at issue here to be a sufficient
    basis for removal would render the requirement of a “punish-
    ment, penalty, or restraint on the alien’s liberty” nearly mean-
    ingless. Cf. De Vega v. Gonzales, 
    503 F.3d 45
    , 49 (1st Cir.
    2007) (focusing on whether a monetary sanction must be
    actually paid when considering whether it is a “punishment”
    or “penalty” as a predicate for ruling that restitution is a “pun-
    ishment or “penalty” because “fail[ure] to make her payments
    . . . could ripen into a guilty plea and [the alien] would be sub-
    ject to further punishment.”). Congress, legislating in the
    wake of Ozkok, could, had it wished to do so, have reduced
    the showing needed for a “conviction” to a mere finding of
    guilt, regardless of whether a sanction was imposed, but
    instead it chose to retain the requirement of a punishment,
    penalty, or restraint on liberty.
    [8] Furthermore, lest there were doubt as to subsection
    (A)’s meaning, Congress addressed the suspension of sanc-
    tions in subsection (B), choosing to include only suspended
    incarceratory sentences. By stating that suspended periods of
    imprisonment should be considered regardless of suspension,
    the statute makes clear that suspended sentences that are not
    periods of imprisonment are not included as punishments,
    penalties, or restraints on liberty. The placement of both sub-
    sections (A) and (B) in section 1101(a)(48) indicates they
    should be read together, as Congress could have placed sub-
    section (B) in a section apart from the definition of conviction
    if its purpose was independent. Subsection (B), thus, modifies
    subsection (A)’s test of conviction to include a suspended
    period of incarceration as a “punishment, penalty, or restraint
    on the alien’s liberty.” See Francis v. Gonzales, 
    442 F.3d 131
    ,
    140 (2d Cir. 2006) (citing subsection (B) as intending to mod-
    ify the definition of “conviction” developed in Ozkok). Sub-
    section (B) therefore confirms that the text of section
    1101(a)(48) excludes from the definition of “conviction”
    deferred judgments of guilt that only result in suspended non-
    incarceratory sentences.
    RETUTA v. HOLDER                             513
    [9] In short, we think it clear that § 1101(a)(48) does not
    contemplate that one who has been the object of a suspended
    fine is to be deemed to have suffered a “conviction.” We
    would add, however, that if we were to view the statute as
    ambiguous, we would think it our duty to resolve the ambigu-
    ity favorably to the alien, pursuant to the principle of lenity
    applicable with respect to the gravity of removal. See I.N.S.
    v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 
    480 U.S. 421
    , 449 (1987); Lara-Cazares
    v. Gonzales, 
    408 F.3d 1217
    , 1221 (9th Cir. 2005). Removal
    is a harsh sanction, and profoundly so when, as here, the alien
    came to America as a small child and has spent almost two
    decades in this country.
    [10] We must decide whether Retuta suffered any punish-
    ment, penalty, or restraint on his liberty when his non-
    incarceratory fine was stayed without any conditions placed
    on him during its abeyance.4 We find he did not.
    4
    The government urges us to remand to the BIA based on I.N.S. v.
    Orlando Ventura, 
    537 U.S. 12
    (2002), for the BIA to reconsider whether
    a suspended non-incarceratory punishment is sufficiently punitive to meet
    the definition of conviction in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48). Remand under Ven-
    tura is required when an agency has not made a determination so the court
    can gain the advantage of the agency’s expertise in the area and its
    informed discussion and analysis. 
    Ventura, 537 U.S. at 17
    . We find Ven-
    tura inapposite to the situation before us.
    Unlike Ventura where this court made a determination on a fact-
    dependent matter of first impression that the BIA failed to reach, 
    id. at 15,
    here, the BIA considered and ruled on the issue. The BIA concluded that
    Ozkok governed and that Ozkok found a suspended fine to be punitive. The
    fact that Ozkok preceded Congress’s definition of conviction and does not
    address suspended fines does not mean the BIA failed to take a position
    on the issue. The BIA did take a position on the issue and it is one with
    which, as explained above, we do not agree. Remand is not appropriate
    when the BIA addressed an issue and its opinion is reversed. See Li v. Ash-
    croft, 
    356 F.3d 1153
    , 1161 n.7 (9th Cir. 2004). The parties filed supple-
    mental briefs regarding the impact of the BIA’s decision not to rehear
    Retuta’s appeal following our Snellenberger decision. Because the BIA’s
    denial of rehearing addressed only the first point regarding the clarity of
    the minute order, we have given it no weight when considering remand of
    the section 1101(a)(48) issue.
    514                   RETUTA v. HOLDER
    C.   Does Federal First Offender Act Apply?
    Lastly, Retuta has challenged the BIA’s finding that he was
    ineligible for relief under the FFOA because his rap sheet
    refers to other controlled substance convictions. Because we
    find that the government did not show Retuta to be remov-
    able, we need not address whether the FFOA could provide
    him with relief.
    Conclusion
    [11] We hold that the minute order was sufficient to estab-
    lish by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that
    Retuta pled guilty to the charge of possession of a controlled
    substance and received a sentence of a suspended fine. We
    further hold that an unconditional suspended non-
    incarceratory sanction that has no present effect is not a pun-
    ishment, penalty, or restraint of liberty under 8 U.S.C.
    § 1101(a)(48). Thus, the government has failed to prove
    Retuta was “convicted” of a controlled substance offense and,
    therefore, he has not been shown to be subject to removal.
    Because the Government presented no evidence sufficient to
    establish that Retuta was subject to removal, we grant the
    petition for review, reverse the order of removal, and remand
    to the Board for disposition consistent with this opinion.
    Petition GRANTED and REMANDED.