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CA7 on Divisibility: Parzych v. Garland

June 28, 2021 (1 min read)

Parzych v. Garland

"Czeslaw Parzych, a Polish citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States, was twice convicted of burglary in Illinois, leading the Department of Homeland Security to begin removal proceedings. After several appeals, the Board of Immigration Appeals ultimately upheld an Immigration Judge’s determination that Parzych was removable. Parzych now petitions for review, arguing that the Board erred by applying the “modified categorical approach” to determine whether his Illinois convictions were removable offenses under federal law. Because the Illinois burglary statute is not divisible, we agree with him that the modified categorical approach does not apply. We therefore grant Parzych’s petition for review, vacate the removal order, and remand the case to the Board for further proceedings."

[Hats off to Chuck Roth, Hena Mansori, now at Cook County PD office, who represented Parzych for years before leaving NIJC, and Diana Rashid handled the case after Hena left.]