The Third Circuit has denied a petition for review filed by a lawful permanent resident from the Dominican Republic who sought withholding of removal after a serious drug trafficking conviction. A majority of the panel agreed that it had jurisdiction after Riley (even though the petition did not mount a challenge to the underlying reinstatement order, only the denial of relief) and agreed that CAT protection was properly denied, but it fractured on the withholding issue.
Because the panel divided evenly on whether Matter of Y-L- lawfully provides a valid mandatory presumption that certain drug trafficking offenses are particularly serious crimes, the BIA’s ruling stood. The Court’s denial does not create precedential law on the validity of Matter of Y-L-, leaving the question for another day.
The full text of Laureano v. Attorney General can be found here: https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/242433p.pdf