Background
Maria Reynoso-Salgado, a Mexican citizen who entered the United States in 1997, pleaded guilty in 2012 to Wisconsin misdemeanor child neglect under Wis. Stat. § 948.21(1). DHS later charged her as removable for being present without admission or parole.
After conceding removability, Reynoso-Salgado sought cancellation of removal. The immigration judge held that her conviction was for a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i), making her statutorily ineligible. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed.
The Court’s Holding
The Seventh Circuit denied the petition for review. Applying the categorical approach and independently interpreting the immigration statute after Loper Bright, the court held that the federal phrase “crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment” is a unitary category.
The generic offense requires a culpable mental state of at least criminal negligence, an act or omission causing harm or creating a reasonable probability of harm, and harm or risk of harm to a child. Wisconsin’s 2012 child-neglect statute requires an intentional act or omission by a person responsible for a child’s welfare that contributes to neglect. It therefore categorically matches the federal offense, and Reynoso-Salgado’s conviction bars cancellation of removal.
Key Takeaways
- The Seventh Circuit adopted a generic definition of child abuse that includes child neglect and abandonment as one statutory category.
- An intentional Wisconsin child-neglect conviction satisfies the federal offense’s minimum culpability requirement.
- The court treated Reynoso-Salgado’s constitutional-vagueness argument as waived because it was underdeveloped.
Why It Matters
The decision establishes Seventh Circuit precedent that the pre-amendment Wisconsin child-neglect statute, Wis. Stat. § 948.21(1), is categorically a child-abuse offense for immigration purposes. Noncitizens with that conviction are ineligible for cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b).