Immigrant’s Removal Case Hinges on New York Larceny Definition

A Dominican Republic immigrant’s removal case must wait while New York’s highest court decides whether the state’s definition of “petit larceny” is consistent with the Board of Immigration Appeals’ definition of a crime of moral turpitude, the Second Circuit said Monday.

After Andy Ferreiras pleaded guilty to three counts of petit larceny in New York, the Board of Immigration Appeals ordered him removed. Ferreiras, the BIA said, committed crimes of moral turpitude, which it defines to include crimes that deprive an owner of property “either permanently or under circumstances where the owner’s property rights are substantially eroded.”

Ferreiras argued that ...