Everton Daye v. U.S. Attorney General ( 2022 )


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  • USCA11 Case: 20-14340     Date Filed: 07/06/2022       Page: 1 of 17
    [PUBLISH]
    In the
    United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eleventh Circuit
    ____________________
    No. 20-14340
    ____________________
    EVERTON DAYE,
    Petitioner,
    versus
    U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
    Respondent.
    ____________________
    Petition for Review of a Decision of the
    Board of Immigration Appeals
    Agency No. A200-316-306
    ____________________
    USCA11 Case: 20-14340        Date Filed: 07/06/2022     Page: 2 of 17
    20-14340               Opinion of the Court                         2
    Before GRANT, LUCK, and HULL, Circuit Judges.
    HULL, Circuit Judge:
    Everton Daye, a native and citizen of Jamaica, petitions for
    review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’s (“BIA”) decision that
    concluded that Daye was removable based on (1) his two state
    convictions for felony transporting into Virginia controlled
    substances with the intent to distribute and (2) his third state
    conviction for felony conspiracy to transport marijuana into
    Virginia.
    After review and with the benefit of oral argument, we hold
    that the BIA did not err in concluding that Daye was removable
    because his state drug trafficking convictions categorically
    constitute crimes involving moral turpitude (“CIMT”) within the
    meaning of Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”)
    § 237(a)(2)(A)(i)-(ii), 
    8 U.S.C. § 1227
    (a)(2)(A)(i)-(ii). Further, the
    Supreme Court’s decision in Jordan v. De George forecloses Daye’s
    claim that the phrase “crime involving moral turpitude” in the INA
    is unconstitutionally vague. See 
    341 U.S. 223
    , 231-32, 
    71 S. Ct. 703
    ,
    708 (1951). Accordingly, we deny Daye’s petition.
    I.     BACKGROUND
    A. Daye’s Virginia Convictions
    On May 22, 2008, Daye was admitted to the United States
    on a B-2 visitor’s visa. After Daye married a U.S. citizen, his status
    was adjusted to lawful permanent resident in September 2009.
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    20-14340               Opinion of the Court                       3
    In separate criminal cases in 2013, Daye was convicted of (1)
    two substantive counts of transporting one ounce or more of
    cocaine, or another Virginia Schedule I or II controlled substance,
    or five pounds of marijuana into Virginia with the intent to sell or
    distribute the substance, in violation of 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2
    -
    248.01, and (2) one conspiracy count of transporting more than five
    pounds of marijuana into Virginia, in violation of 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-256
     (the conspiracy statute). The underlying substantive
    offense for the conspiracy count is 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18-2.248.01
    , the
    same statute in Daye’s other convictions. The parties agree that
    Daye committed his two substantive drug offenses on March 15,
    2013 and his marijuana conspiracy offense beginning on August 13,
    2013.
    In February 2014, the state court imposed prison terms of
    seven years for each of the two substantive drug offenses, to run
    consecutively, and another consecutive prison term of five years
    for the marijuana conspiracy offense. The resulting total term was
    19 years, with six years to be served in prison and the balance
    suspended.
    B. Removal Proceedings Before the IJ
    In 2018, the Department of Homeland Security issued a
    Notice to Appear, charging Daye with removability on multiple
    grounds, including: (1) under INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(i), 
    8 U.S.C. § 1227
    (a)(2)(A)(i), as an alien convicted of a CIMT committed
    within five years after admission for which a sentence of one year
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    20-14340                Opinion of the Court                         4
    or longer may be imposed; and (2) under INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(ii), 
    8 U.S.C. § 1227
    (a)(2)(A)(ii), as an alien who at any time after
    admission was convicted of two CIMTs not arising out of a single
    scheme of criminal misconduct. 1
    In April 2019, Daye, represented by counsel, moved to
    terminate removal proceedings. Daye argued that his state drug
    convictions did not qualify as CIMTs because Virginia’s statutes
    penalized substances that were not federally controlled and
    transporting a non-federally controlled substance was akin to a
    regulatory offense that was not morally reprehensible. In
    opposition, the government argued, inter alia, that Daye’s drug
    convictions supported removability because the BIA had long held
    that participation in an illicit drug trafficking crime was an offense
    involving moral turpitude. See In re Khourn, 
    21 I. & N. Dec. 1041
    ,
    1046-47 (BIA 1997).
    The IJ denied Daye’s motion to terminate removal
    proceedings based on the CIMT grounds. The IJ concluded that all
    three of Daye’s Virginia drug convictions constituted CIMTs. The
    IJ determined that the prohibited substances in 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     were broader than the federal controlled substances.
    Further, 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     was not a divisible statute,
    and thus the categorical approach applied.
    1
    The IJ granted Daye’s motion to terminate as to two other grounds for
    removability charged in the Notice to Appear. The CIMT grounds are the
    only ones before us.
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    20-14340               Opinion of the Court                       5
    Applying the categorical approach, the IJ concluded an
    offense under 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
    —which includes an
    intent to distribute—necessarily required a morally culpable
    mental state and morally reprehensible conduct. The IJ relied upon
    In re Khourn, in which the BIA held that cocaine distribution in
    violation of 
    21 U.S.C. § 841
    (a)(1) constitutes a CIMT. See 21 I. &
    N. Dec. at 1044 n.4, 1046-47. The IJ also cited Guevara-Solorzano
    v. Sessions, in which the Fourth Circuit concluded that a Tennessee
    conviction for unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to
    manufacture, deliver or sell constituted a CIMT. See 
    891 F.3d 125
    ,
    129, 135-36 (4th Cir. 2018).
    Because Daye committed the two substantive drug offenses
    within five years after his May 22, 2008 admission, and those
    offenses carried a sentence of one year or longer, the IJ found that
    Daye was removable under INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(i), 
    8 U.S.C. § 1227
    (a)(2)(A)(i). Because those two substantive drug offenses and
    Daye’s drug conspiracy offense all occurred after his 2008
    admission and did not arise out of a single scheme of criminal
    misconduct, the IJ found that Daye was removable also under INA
    § 237(a)(2)(A)(ii), 
    8 U.S.C. § 1227
    (a)(2)(A)(i).
    The government’s motion for reconsideration argued that
    the IJ erred in concluding that 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     was not
    divisible as to the particular substance transported. Denying the
    motion, the IJ concluded that the particular substance transported
    was not an element of the offense under Virginia law given that it
    was not required to be found by the jury and there were no
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    20-14340                Opinion of the Court                          6
    sentencing differences corresponding with the type of substance.
    Daye was ordered removed to Jamaica.
    C. Appeal to the BIA
    On appeal to the BIA, Daye contended his Virginia offenses
    were not categorically CIMTs. The government did not cross-
    appeal to the BIA the IJ’s divisibility ruling, but it did “maintain[]”
    in a motion for summary affirmance that 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2
    -
    248.01 was divisible and the modified categorical approach should
    apply.
    The BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision that Daye was removable
    on CIMT grounds under both INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(i) and (ii), 
    8 U.S.C. § 1227
    (a)(2)(A)(i) and (ii). Stressing that it had long held that
    “participation in illicit drug trafficking is a CIMT,” the BIA agreed
    with the IJ that a violation of 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     was
    categorically a CIMT. The BIA did not address or disturb the IJ’s
    divisibility ruling.
    II.      DISCUSSION
    A. Crime Involving Moral Turpitude under the INA
    An alien is removable if he or she has been convicted of a
    felony CIMT within five years after admission or has been con-
    victed of two or more CIMTs not arising out of a single scheme at
    any time after admission. INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(i)-(ii), 8 U.S.C.
    USCA11 Case: 20-14340               Date Filed: 07/06/2022         Page: 7 of 17
    20-14340                     Opinion of the Court                                7
    § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i)-(ii). 2 The phrase “moral turpitude” is not defined
    in the INA.
    This Court has ruled that moral turpitude means an “act of
    baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties
    which a man owes to his fellow men, or to society in general,
    contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty
    between man and man.” Cano v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 
    709 F.3d 1052
    ,
    1053 (11th Cir. 2013) (quotation marks omitted). Similarly, the BIA
    has defined “moral turpitude” to mean “conduct that is inherently
    base, vile, or depraved” and has said that “[t]o involve moral
    turpitude, a crime requires two essential elements: reprehensible
    conduct and a culpable mental state.” In re Silva-Trevino, 
    26 I. & N. Dec. 826
    , 833-34 (BIA 2016) (quotation marks omitted); see
    Zarate v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 
    26 F.4th 1196
    , 1200-01 (11th Cir. 2022)
    (describing this Court’s definition of moral turpitude as similar to
    the BIA’s definition). This Court has given Chevron3 deference to
    the BIA’s definition of moral turpitude and “its application of that
    definition in precedential opinions.” See Zarate, 26 F.4th at 1201,
    1207.
    2
    Whether a conviction qualifies as a CIMT under the INA is a legal question
    we review de novo. Lauture v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 
    28 F.4th 1169
    , 1172 (11th Cir.
    2022). Where, as here, the BIA affirmed the IJ and agreed with the IJ’s reason-
    ing, we review the decisions of both the IJ and the BIA. See Gonzalez v. U.S.
    Att’y Gen., 
    820 F.3d 399
    , 403 (11th Cir. 2016).
    3
    Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 
    467 U.S. 837
    , 
    104 S. Ct. 2778
     (1984).
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    20-14340                Opinion of the Court                          8
    “Consistent with the two elements identified by the BIA,”
    this Court has concluded that “a crime involving moral turpitude
    must involve conduct that not only violates a statute but also
    independently violates a moral norm.” Id. at 1201 (quotation
    marks omitted). We have identified two classes of crimes
    involving moral turpitude: (1) fraud offenses, which based on
    Supreme Court precedent are “categorically deemed to involve
    moral turpitude”; and (2) “non-fraud offenses” that “must also
    satisfy the ‘inherently base, vile, or depraved’ requirement to
    constitute CIMTs.” Id. at 1201-02 (citing De George, 
    341 U.S. at 232
    , 
    71 S. Ct. at 708
    ). “[I]t is inappropriate to conflate the BIA’s two
    requirements in non-fraud scenarios so that one (a culpable mental
    state) automatically satisfies the other (moral reprehensibility).”
    Id. at 1207-08 (concluding the BIA erred “by collapsing the two
    requirements of moral turpitude into one”). That said, “one can
    inform the other.” Id.
    The BIA has long held that drug trafficking offenses
    constitute CIMTs. For instance, in In re Khourn, the BIA
    concluded that distribution of cocaine, in violation of 
    21 U.S.C. § 841
    (a), is a CIMT. 21 I. & N. Dec. at 1041. In Khourn, the BIA
    reasoned that § 841(a), unlike “a statute that was regulatory,” is a
    criminal statute that “clearly requires a mental state of knowledge
    or intent.” Id. at 1045-46. Additionally, “an evil intent”—i.e., moral
    reprehensibility—is “inherent in the crime of distribution of a
    controlled substance” under § 841(a). Id. at 1047; see also In re
    Acosta, 
    27 I. & N. Dec. 420
    , 422-24 (BIA 2018) (concluding
    USCA11 Case: 20-14340        Date Filed: 07/06/2022      Page: 9 of 17
    20-14340                Opinion of the Court                         9
    attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance under New York
    law constitutes a CIMT); In re Gonzalez Romo, 
    26 I. & N. Dec. 743
    , 745-46 (BIA 2016) (concluding solicitation to possess
    marijuana for sale under Arizona law constitutes a CIMT).
    As to moral reprehensibility, the BIA in Khourn stressed that
    “Congress” had “explained in legislative history” that “few criminal
    acts . . . are more reprehensible than the act of abetting drug
    addiction by engaging in the illicit narcotic and marihuana
    trafficking.” 21 I. & N. Dec. at 1046 (quoting H.R. Rep. No. 84-
    2388, at 11(1956)). The BIA observed that while there was
    disagreement as to whether “mere possession of controlled
    substances” involved moral turpitude, “both Federal and State
    courts concur that participation in illicit drug trafficking is a crime
    involving moral turpitude.” Id. at 1046-47 (listing federal and state
    precedent finding that participation in the sale of illicit drugs is
    “depraved” and “morally indefensible,” “involves the intent to
    corrupt others,” and “contributes to the physical harm of the
    purchaser”); see also Acosta, 27 I. & N. Dec. at 423 (rejecting
    argument that “the intent in selling a drug may not be evil” where
    the state law prohibiting the unauthorized sale of drugs was
    enacted to prevent societal harm).
    Consistent with the BIA, our sister circuits that have
    addressed the issue have also concluded that drug trafficking
    offenses have the requisite culpable mental state and moral
    reprehensibility to constitute CIMTs. See Mota v. Barr, 
    971 F.3d 96
    , 99-101 (2d Cir. 2020) (addressing felony possession of narcotics
    USCA11 Case: 20-14340            Date Filed: 07/06/2022         Page: 10 of 17
    20-14340                   Opinion of the Court                               10
    with intent to sell under Connecticut law); Guevara-Solorzano, 891
    F.3d at 128, 135-36 (addressing unlawful possession of marijuana
    with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell under Tennessee law);
    Barragan-Lopez v. Mukasey, 
    508 F.3d 899
    , 903-04 (9th Cir. 2007)
    (addressing solicitation to possess over four pounds of marijuana
    for sale under Arizona law).
    B. Categorical Approach
    Here, the IJ concluded that 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     is
    not divisible and that the categorical approach applies. As noted
    earlier, the BIA did not address or disturb that ruling. In their initial
    merits briefs filed with this Court, the parties do not dispute the IJ’s
    divisibility determination and instead argue about whether under
    the categorical approach a violation of the Virginia statute
    constitutes a CIMT. Therefore, we do not address the divisibility
    of 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     and assume for purposes of this
    petition for review that we apply the categorical approach. 4
    4
    For the first time in supplemental briefing, the government argued that 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     is divisible and the modified categorical approach
    applies. We decline to address divisibility because the government’s initial
    brief failed to raise divisibility. See United States v. Nealy, 
    232 F.3d 825
    , 830
    (11th Cir. 2000). In any event, as discussed later, even the least culpable acts
    under 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     categorically constitute a CIMT. See Gelin
    v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 
    837 F.3d 1236
    , 1243 (11th Cir. 2016) (declining to address
    the “divisibility question” where the least culpable conduct under the statute
    of conviction categorically constituted a CIMT “in any event”).
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    20-14340                  Opinion of the Court                             11
    Under the categorical approach, we “ask whether the least
    culpable conduct necessary to sustain a conviction under the
    statute meets the standard of a crime involving moral turpitude.”
    Zarate, 26 F.4th at 1199 (quotation marks omitted); see also Cano,
    709 F.3d at 1053 n.3. In determining whether an offense constitutes
    a CIMT, “we ‘may rely on court decisions in the convicting
    jurisdiction that interpret the meaning of the statutory language.’”
    Smith v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 
    983 F.3d 1206
    , 1210 (11th Cir. 2020)
    (quoting Gelin v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 
    837 F.3d 1236
    , 1243 (11th Cir.
    2016)). We begin with the Virginia statute of conviction and the
    elements of the offense and then compare them to the two
    requirements for a CIMT. 5
    Virginia Code § 18.2-248.01 makes it a felony for:
    [A]ny person to transport into the Commonwealth by
    any means with intent to sell or distribute one ounce
    or more of cocaine, coca leaves or any salt,
    compound, derivative or preparation thereof as
    described in Schedule II of the Drug Control Act or
    one ounce or more of any other Schedule I or II
    controlled substance or five or more pounds of
    marijuana.
    5
    Daye agrees that his petition for review stands or falls on whether the
    substantive offense of transportation categorically constitutes a CIMT because
    in immigration proceedings inchoate offenses such as conspiracy qualify as a
    CIMT if the underlying substantive offense qualifies as a CIMT. See In re
    Gonzalez Romo, 26 I. & N. Dec. at 743, 746.
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    20-14340                   Opinion of the Court                               12
    
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
    .
    Virginia courts have concluded that “[t]he plain and obvious
    meaning of [Va.] Code § 18.2-248.01 is to prohibit the
    transportation of illegal substances into Virginia by a person whose
    intent is to distribute those substances.” Washington v.
    Commonwealth, 
    597 S.E.2d 256
    , 305-06 (Va. Ct. App. 2004)
    (cleaned up). To convict a defendant of violating 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
    , the state must prove the defendant transported “by
    any means” one of the illegal substances identified in the statute
    with the intent to distribute it. Seke v. Commonwealth, 
    482 S.E.2d 88
    , 89-90, 91 (Va. Ct. App. 1997) (quoting 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2
    -
    248.01). 6
    We readily conclude that even the least culpable conduct
    that violates this Virginia drug statute categorically constitutes a
    CIMT. As to culpable mental state, 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
    requires that the defendant have the intent to distribute to others
    the illegal substance he has transported into Virginia. The intent
    to traffic an illegal substance satisfies the mens rea requirement for
    a CIMT.
    6
    The state, however, “is not required to prove the place where a defendant
    intends to distribute illegal substances in order to obtain a conviction” because
    the statute “contains no express geographical limitation applicable to the in-
    tent element.” Seke, 
    482 S.E.2d at 90
    . “[A] violation of [Va.] Code § 18.2-
    248.01 occurs the moment a person transporting illegal substances penetrates
    the borders of the Commonwealth.” Green v. Commonwealth, 
    528 S.E.2d 187
    , 192 (Va. Ct. App. 2000).
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    20-14340                   Opinion of the Court                               13
    As to moral reprehensibility, transporting an illegal
    substance with the intent to distribute it is inherently base, vile, or
    depraved conduct. We agree with the BIA and our sister circuits
    that, given the profound societal harms caused by drug abuse and
    unlawful drug distribution, participating in illicit drug trafficking,
    including by transporting the drugs to be trafficked with intent to
    distribute, is reprehensible conduct.
    What Daye views as the least culpable conduct covered by
    
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     has been something of a moving
    target. He appears to have settled on the act of transporting five or
    more pounds of marijuana through Virginia with the intent to
    distribute it in another state where its distribution is lawful with a
    license. Daye contends this conduct is not a CIMT because, in light
    of evolving societal views on marijuana, that conduct “can no
    longer be said to violate societal norms.”
    Daye points to the fact that Virginia, along with many other
    states, recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of
    marijuana for either medical or personal use. See 
    Va. Code Ann. §§ 4.1-1100
    (A), 54.1-3408.3, 54.1-3442.7, 54.1-3442.8. 7 That some
    7
    In July 2021, Virginia legalized simple possession of one ounce or less of ma-
    rijuana by persons who are at least 21 years of age. See 
    Va. Code Ann. § 4.1
    -
    1100(A); see also Va. Acts 2021, Sp. S. 1, chap. 550 (“Acts 2021”), cl. 1 at 155,
    cl. 3 at 279. Possession of amounts over one ounce is subject to a civil penalty,
    but possession of more than one pound of marijuana remains a felony offense.
    
    Va. Code Ann. § 4.1-1100
    (B),(C). It also remains illegal to sell, possess with
    intent to sell, or distribute any amount of marijuana in Virginia and to
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    20-14340                   Opinion of the Court                               14
    states allow possession of small amounts of marijuana is irrelevant
    to whether trafficking large amounts of it involves moral turpitude.
    In any event, Virginia, like many states, continues to criminalize
    possession of larger amounts of marijuana. See 
    Va. Code Ann. § 4.1-1100
    (C); see also, e.g., 
    Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-18-406
    (4); Cal
    Health & Safety Code § 11357; Rev. Code Wash. § 69.50.4014. And
    Virginia continues to prohibit, and prosecute as a felony, marijuana
    trafficking, including selling, giving, distributing, or possessing
    with intent to sell, give, or distribute more than one ounce of
    marijuana, and transporting five or more pounds of marijuana with
    the intent to distribute. 
    Va. Code Ann. §§ 18.2-248.1
    (2), 18.2-
    248.01. Whatever might be said about personal use of small
    amounts of marijuana, Daye has not shown a corresponding
    change in society’s views about trafficking marijuana in larger
    amounts.
    Alternatively, Daye suggests the least culpable conduct is
    transporting into Virginia a substance on Virginia’s list of
    controlled substances but not on the federal list of controlled
    substances. 8 Daye contends such substances are “harmless,”
    transport five pounds or more of marijuana into the state. 
    Va. Code Ann. §§ 18.2-248.1
    , 18.2-248.01.
    8
    Virginia codifies its Schedule I and Schedule II lists of controlled substances
    in provisions of the Drug Control Act, 
    Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-3446
     and § 54.1-
    3448, respectively. While there is some dispute as to the number of
    substances, the parties agree that at the time of Daye’s convictions, Virginia’s
    Schedule I listed some substances that the federal schedules did not.
    USCA11 Case: 20-14340        Date Filed: 07/06/2022     Page: 15 of 17
    20-14340                Opinion of the Court                        15
    making their transportation into Virginia a mere regulatory offense
    similar to transporting alcohol or cigarettes. See In re J-, 
    2 I. & N. Dec. 99
    , 104-05 (BIA 1944) (holding that unlawful sale of alcohol to
    Native Americans who are wards of the government in violation
    of a federal statute that had no mens rea requirement was a
    regulatory offense and not a CIMT).
    Virginia, by listing a particular substance in one of its
    schedules, has determined that the substance has a high potential
    for abuse and poses a risk to public health if it is left uncontrolled.
    See 
    Va. Code Ann. §§ 54.1-3443
    , 54.1-3445, 54.1-3447. The fact that
    the federal government has not listed the same substance does not
    establish that the substance is per se “harmless.” As the
    government points out, both state governments and the federal
    government must periodically add substances to their schedules in
    an effort to keep up with underground chemists who search out
    and use new chemicals to circumvent drug laws. The federal
    government prosecutes some of the substances listed in the
    Virginia schedules as analogues or isomers of federally listed
    substances. See 
    21 U.S.C. § 813
    ; see e.g., United States v. Phifer,
    
    909 F.3d 372
    , 375-81 (11th Cir. 2018) (involving a conviction for
    possession with intent to distribute ethylone, a non-listed
    substance, as an isomer of butylone, a temporarily listed
    substance); United States v. Achey, 
    943 F.3d 909
    , 912 (11th Cir.
    2019) (involving a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent
    to distribute tetrahydrofuran fentanyl, an analogue of fentanyl, a
    Schedule II controlled substance). We will not second guess
    USCA11 Case: 20-14340         Date Filed: 07/06/2022       Page: 16 of 17
    20-14340                 Opinion of the Court                           16
    Virginia’s determination that the substances it has listed are
    potentially harmful to others if left uncontrolled solely on the basis
    that the federal government has not also listed, or has delisted,
    those substances. Daye’s argument that transportation with intent
    to distribute a non-federally controlled substance into Virginia
    amounts to only a regulatory offense, and not a CIMT, is without
    merit.
    C. Vagueness Challenge
    Daye argues that the statutory phrase “crime involving
    moral turpitude” in the INA is unconstitutionally vague in light of
    the Supreme Court’s decisions in Johnson v. United States, 
    576 U.S. 591
    , 
    135 S. Ct. 2551
     (2015), and Sessions v. Dimaya, 584 U.S. ___,
    
    138 S. Ct. 1204
     (2018). 9 In Jordan v. De George, the Supreme Court
    held that the phrase “crime involving moral turpitude” was not
    unconstitutionally vague. 
    341 U.S. at 231-32
    , 
    71 S. Ct. at 708
    . We
    are bound by De George. Zarate, 26 F.4th at 1200 & n.2. Johnson
    and Dimaya addressed different federal statutes with different
    statutory phrases and therefore do not permit this Court to deviate
    from De George. See United States v. Thomas, 
    242 F.3d 1028
    , 1035
    (11th Cir. 2001) (explaining this Court is bound to follow Supreme
    Court precedent “until the Supreme Court itself overrules that
    decision”).
    9
    We review constitutional questions de novo. Poveda v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 
    692 F.3d 1168
    , 1172 (11th Cir. 2012).
    USCA11 Case: 20-14340           Date Filed: 07/06/2022   Page: 17 of 17
    20-14340                Opinion of the Court                        17
    III.     CONCLUSION
    For the foregoing reasons, we conclude the BIA did not err
    in determining that Daye’s convictions for violating, and
    conspiring to violate, 
    Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-248.01
     were
    categorically CIMTs. As a consequence, the BIA properly
    determined that Daye was removable pursuant to INA
    § 237(a)(2)(A)(i), 
    8 U.S.C. § 1227
    (a)(2)(A)(i), and 237(a)(2)(A)(ii), 
    8 U.S.C. § 1227
    (a)(2)(A)(ii).
    PETITION DENIED.