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FOR PUBLICATION
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
No. 25-10093
RISHI RAMDIAL,
Petitioner,
versus
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondent.
Petition for Review of a Decision of the
Board of Immigration Appeals
Agency No. A055-997-911
Before ROSENBAUM, LAGOA, and MARCUS, Circuit Judges.
ROSENBAUM, Circuit Judge:
The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) ruled that Rishi
Ramdial is removable as an aggravated felon, so he’s ineligible for
cancellation of removal under Section 240A(a) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). Ramdial petitions
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2 Opinion of the Court 25-10093
for review. He argues that his Florida conviction for robbery by
sudden snatching, see FLA. STAT. § 812.131, is not a “theft offense”
under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G), so it is not an “aggravated felony”
under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a).
After careful consideration and with the benefit of oral argument, we disagree. So we deny Ramdial’s petition.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL
HISTORY
Ramdial is a native and citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. He
immigrated to the United States and obtained lawful-permanentresident status in 2003.
Several years later, on November 18, 2019, Ramdial was
convicted in Florida state court of robbery by sudden snatching, in
violation of FLA. STAT. § 812.131(1), (2)(b). On the same day,
Ramdial was also convicted of trafficking in hydrocodone, trafficking in oxycodone, attempted trafficking in hydrocodone, possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance (alprazolam), and possession of fentanyl. For his offenses, the court sentenced Ramdial
to five years’ imprisonment.
In 2022, the United States Department of Homeland Security (“Department”) initiated removal proceedings against
Ramdial. As relevant here, the notice to appear charged Ramdial
with removability as an aggravated felon under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) on the ground that he had committed a theft offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G)—robbery by sudden snatchUSCA11 Case: 25-10093 Document: 34-1 Date Filed: 08/21/2026 Page: 3 of 20
25-10093 Opinion of the Court 3
ing under Florida law. Under the INA, a noncitizen “who is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission is deportable.” 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). And a “theft offense . . . for
which the term of imprisonment [is] at least one year” is an “aggravated felony.” Id. § 1101(a)(43)(G).
Ramdial sought the discretionary relief of cancellation of removal for permanent residents under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). To qualify for discretionary relief, Ramdial could not be “convicted of any
aggravated felony.” Id. § 1229b(a)(3). So Ramdial challenged the
Department’s labeling of his robbery-by-sudden-snatching conviction as an aggravated felony. See id. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii).
In furtherance of his request for cancellation of removal,
Ramdial appeared before an immigration judge (“IJ”) for a master
calendar hearing. Through counsel, he admitted five of the six factual allegations contained in the notice to appear, but he denied the
charges of removability. Ramdial confirmed that he sought only
cancellation of removal for permanent residents under 8 U.S.C. §
1229b(a). The IJ found all allegations were established and sustained removability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i) (controlledsubstance offense).
But the IJ also asked the parties to brief whether Ramdial’s
conviction for robbery by sudden snatching qualified as an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). Ramdial argued
that his conviction did not satisfy the “aggravated felony” definition because robbery by sudden snatching allows for “temporary
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or permanent taking[s].” And, Ramdial urged, the generic definition of “theft” does not include temporary takings.
The IJ disagreed. He determined that Ramdial’s conviction
for robbery by sudden snatching under FLA. STAT. § 812.131(1)
qualified as an aggravated-felony theft offense under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1101(a)(43)(G). The IJ reasoned that a taking satisfies the generic
definition of “theft,” “even if such deprivation is less than total or
permanent,” Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183, 189 (2007).
Plus, the IJ noted, Ramdial was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of at least one year. Because the IJ determined Ramdial’s
conviction fulfilled both parts of the definition of “aggravated felony,” the IJ ruled Ramdial ineligible for cancellation of removal and
ordered him removed to Trinidad and Tobago.
Ramdial appealed the IJ’s decision to the BIA. But the BIA
dismissed Ramdial’s appeal. Like the IJ, the BIA rejected Ramdial’s
argument that his conviction under FLA. STAT. § 812.131(1) didn’t
qualify as an aggravated felony because the Florida law encompasses temporary takings. Then the BIA clarified that the definition
of “aggravated felony theft” includes takings that are less than permanent. The BIA also determined that FLA. STAT. § 812.131(1)
matches the definition of generic theft because both require only
an intent to deprive, whether temporary or permanent.
Ramdial petitioned this Court for review of the BIA’s decision affirming the IJ’s opinion and dismissing the appeal. For the
first time, in this Court, Ramdial advanced two more arguments
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for why Florida robbery by sudden snatching is broader than generic theft: first, that, unlike generic theft, the Florida offense lacks
a “without consent” element; and second, that the Florida offense
requires an intent to deprive the victim or owner, rather than solely
the owner, of property rights, but generic theft, Ramdial asserts,
requires an intent to deprive only the owner.
After Ramdial filed his initial brief in this Court, the government moved to remand the case to the BIA “to further consider its
conclusion whether FLA. STAT. § 812.131(1), Robbery by Sudden
Snatch[ing], is an aggravated felony theft offense under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1101(a)(43)(G) and, if [not], whether Petitioner met his burden to
show eligibility for cancellation of removal for legal permanent residents.” We granted the government’s motion, which we construed as a motion to vacate the BIA’s decision and to remand for
further proceedings.
On remand before the BIA, Ramdial pressed the new arguments he had first raised in this Court. The Department urged the
BIA to affirm its prior decision and dismiss the appeal. The BIA did
so. It rejected Ramdial’s arguments and again dismissed the appeal.
Ramdial now petitions us for review of the BIA’s latest decision.
II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW
The IJ found that Ramdial’s controlled-substance convictions made him removable, and Ramdial does not challenge that
determination. The INA generally bars us from reviewing a reUSCA11 Case: 25-10093 Document: 34-1 Date Filed: 08/21/2026 Page: 6 of 20
6 Opinion of the Court 25-10093
moval order against a noncitizen who is removable for a controlled-substance offense. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(C). But we retain jurisdiction over constitutional claims and questions of law.
See id. § 1252(a)(2)(D).
Whether Ramdial’s robbery-by-sudden-snatching conviction qualifies as an aggravated felony—and thus makes him ineligible for cancellation of removal—is a question of law that we review
de novo. See Kemokai v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 83 F.4th 886, 891 (11th Cir.
2023). We therefore have jurisdiction to decide that question.
III. DISCUSSION
A noncitizen is removable if he “is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission.” 8 U.S.C.
§ 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). As we’ve noted, and relevant here, an “aggravated felony” includes “a theft offense . . . for which the term of
imprisonment [is] at least one year.” Id. § 1101(a)(43)(G).
Because the INA does not define “theft offense,” we construe that term according to the generic definition of “theft.”
Vassell v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 839 F.3d 1352, 1356 (11th Cir. 2016).
We’ve explained that generic “theft” means “the taking of, or exercise of control over, property without consent whenever there is
criminal intent to deprive the owner of the rights and benefits of
ownership, even if such deprivation is less than total or permanent.” Id. (citation omitted); see also Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. at 189.
With that in mind, we consider whether Florida robbery-bysudden-snatching qualifies as an aggravated felony by comparing
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the Florida crime to generic “theft.” We generally use the categorical approach to determine whether a state conviction is an aggravated felony. Donawa v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 735 F.3d 1275, 1280 (11th
Cir. 2013). That approach looks to the elements of the offense of
conviction, as state law defines them. In so doing, we consider “the
minimum conduct criminalized” by the statute, not the facts of the
petitioner’s particular offense. Vassell, 839 F.3d at 1356 (citation
modified). Then we ask whether those elements are the same as,
or narrower than, the elements of the generic offense. Moncrieffe v.
Holder, 569 U.S. 184, 190 (2013); Descamps v. United States, 570 U.S.
254, 257 (2013). If they are, we have a match, and the conviction
offense qualifies.
At various points, the parties have suggested that the modified categorical approach may apply here. The modified categorical approach tells us whether a conviction satisfies a statutory definition when a law is divisible. Descamps, 570 U.S. at 263–64. That
is, the modified categorical approach applies when a single law effectively creates different crimes through alternative elements, including at least one version that satisfies the statutory definition of,
as relevant here, “aggravated felony,” and at least one version that
doesn’t. See id. When the modified categorical approach applies, a
court “consult[s] a limited class of documents, such as indictments
and jury instructions, to determine which alternative formed the
basis of the defendant’s prior conviction.” Id. at 257.
Section 812.131(1) contains two disjunctive formulations relevant here: the defendant must act with intent to “permanently or
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temporarily deprive” the “victim or the owner” of the property.
FLA. STAT. § 812.131(1) (emphasis added). But the mere fact that a
statute is worded in the disjunctive does not necessarily mean that
it is divisible. See Mathis v. United States, 579 U.S. 500, 506, 512–13
(2016). Sometimes laws state disjunctive means of accomplishing a
single crime. See id. But different means of carrying out a crime
are not different elements. See id. And so they do not make different
crimes. See id. Rather, to determine whether the modified categorical approach governs, we must ask whether Florida law requires a jury to agree unanimously on which alternative the state
proved. See id. at 517–18. If it does, then the modified categorical
approach applies.
Section 812.131(1) does not create alternative crimes. After
all, nothing in Florida law suggests that “permanently” and “temporarily,” or “victim” and “owner,” are separate elements creating
different crimes. To the contrary, Florida’s standard instruction
treats the statute as requiring one intent element: that the defendant committed the taking with intent to permanently or temporarily deprive the victim or owner of the right to the property. 1 In re
1 Florida standard jury instructions are an “authoritative source[ ] of state law”
when determining the divisibility of a statute. Guillen v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 910
F.3d 1174, 1184 (11th Cir. 2018) (quoting Mathis, 579 U.S. at 518). The standard instruction for § 812.131 lists four elements:
(1) (Defendant) took the (money or property described in
charge) from the person of (person alleged);
(2) the property taken was of some value;
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Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—Report No. 2008-08, 6 So.
3d 574, 587 (Fla. 2009). Either way satisfies the intent element. In
other words, the instruction does not require the jury to agree
unanimously about whether the defendant intended to deprive the
owner or non-owner victim, permanently or temporarily. As long
as the jury agrees that the defendant intended to deprive either an
owner or non-owner victim, either permanently or temporarily, of
the item, the jury may return a guilty verdict. So the instruction
supports treating those alternatives as mere means of satisfying one
element, not as separate elements.
As a result, Section 812.131(1) is not divisible as to the “permanently or temporarily” or “victim or owner” language. And the
modified categorical approach is unavailable. So we may not consult the record of conviction to determine whether Ramdial in fact
intended a permanent or temporary deprivation or intended to deprive the owner rather than some other victim. We must instead
decide whether the least culpable conduct that Section 812.131(1)
criminalizes categorically fits the generic theft offense.
(3) the taking was with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive (victim) or the owner of [his] [her] right to the property;
(4) in the course of the taking, (victim) was or became aware
of the taking.
In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases—Report No. 2008-08, 6 So. 3d
574, 586–87 (Fla. 2009).
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Ramdial argues that Section 812.131(1) is broader than generic theft in three respects. First, he says the statute’s intent element encompasses more conduct than generic theft’s intent element. Second, he urges us to conclude that the statute covers temporary or de minimis takings, but generic theft doesn’t. And third,
he asserts that Section 812.131(1) does not expressly require lack of
consent, but generic theft does. We disagree on all counts.
A. Section 812.131(1)’s intent element is no broader
than generic theft’s.
Ramdial first contends that Section 812.131(1)’s intent element is broader than generic theft’s in three ways. He argues that
the statute authorizes convictions when the defendant intends to
deprive a non-owner victim, but generic theft demands an intent
to deprive the owner. Relatedly, Ramdial asserts that Section
812.131(1)’s intent element encompasses more conduct than generic theft’s because the statute doesn’t “contain an element limiting the offense to conduct in which the intent directed to the [nonowner] ‘victim’ is to deprive the victim of the rights or benefits of
ownership.” And finally, with respect to the intent element,
Ramdial argues that, unlike with generic theft, Section 812.131(1)
doesn’t “require that the [non-owner] victim be in authorized possession of the object.”
We can’t agree with any of these arguments because they
rest on mistaken understandings of Section 812.131(1), generic
theft, or both.
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We begin with Ramdial’s suggestion that under Section
812.131(1), a defendant can be convicted for intent to deprive either
an owner or a non-owner victim, but generic theft requires intent
to deprive only an owner. Let’s start where we agree. To be sure,
Section 812.131(1) authorizes conviction for intent to deprive a
non-owner victim.
But Ramdial is mistaken that this fact somehow makes Section 812.131(1) broader than generic theft. This is so for two reasons.
First, generic theft doesn’t impose a title-owner requirement. See United States v. Orozco-Orozco, 94 F.4th 1118, 1124 (9th
Cir. 2024). To understand why, we consider the common-law
meaning of “theft.” We do so because “when Congress uses a term
with origins in the common law, [like “theft” in the INA,] we generally presume that the term brings the old soil with it.” Barrie v.
U.S. Att’y Gen., 167 F.4th 1315, 1323 (11th Cir. 2026) (quoting Kousisis v. United States, 605 U.S. 114, 124 (2025)); see also Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. at 189 (considering the common law in determining
whether generic theft includes aiding and abetting).
As the Ninth Circuit has explained, generic theft requires a
showing only that “the defendant intended to take property from
a person with a superior possessory interest in the property.”
Orozco-Orozco, 94 F.4th at 1124; see also United States v. Howey, 427
F.2d 1017, 1018 (9th Cir. 1970) (“It was not an essential part of the
common law larceny-type offense that the thief knew who owned
the property he took; it was enough that he knew it did not belong
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to him.”). Similarly, the Second Circuit has observed that “[p]roof
of the identity of the owner of purloined property is not a requisite
element of the crime of larceny as it is defined in most American
jurisdictions.” 2 Chiaramonte v. INS, 626 F.2d 1093, 1099 (2d Cir.
1980). And one treatise has noted that, when it comes to larceny,
“ownership and possession may be regarded as synonymous terms,
for one who has a right to the possession of goods, as against the
thief, as far as he or she is concerned, is the owner of them.” 52B
C.J.S. Larceny § 43 (2023) (“A larceny victim’s actual ownership of
the stolen property need not be proven but only that the victim has
a right to possession superior to that of the defendant.”); see also 3
Wayne R. LaFave, Substantive Criminal Law § 19.4(c) (3d ed. Oct.
2025 update) (“For larceny the thief need not take the property
from its owner. A second thief is guilty of larceny even though he
steals the property from the first thief.”).
So Ramdial is mistaken in thinking that generic theft’s intent
element requires an intent to deprive an owner. It does not. Rather, generic theft requires only an intent to take property from
someone who has a superior possessory interest.
2 Congress added a “theft offense” to the INA’s definition of “aggravated felony” in 1994. Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-416, § 222(a), 108 Stat. 4305, 4320–21. The 1990 edition of
Black’s Law Dictionary—then the current edition—defined “theft” as “[a] popular name for larceny.” Theft, BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY 1477 (6th ed. 1990).
We therefore use that contemporaneous definition. See Barrie, 167 F.4th at
1322–23; see also Orozco-Orozco, 94 F.4th at 1123 (noting that “‘theft’ stems
from the common law crime of larceny” (citation omitted)).
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Second, Florida robbery by sudden snatching under Section
812.131(1) demands the same showing. In the burglary context,
the Florida Supreme Court has explained that the ownership element is “not the same as ownership in property law.” D.S.S. v.
State, 850 So. 2d 459, 461–62 (Fla. 2003). Rather, the state may satisfy that element by “special or temporary ownership, possession,
or control” that is rightful as against the defendant. Id. Florida larceny cases make the same point: “[t]he exact state of the title of
stolen property is of no particular concern of the thief, except that
it must have been in some one else,” and the prosecution may
prove ownership where the possessor holds the property “as bailee,
trustee, or otherwise, having only a special interest and not a general ownership. . . .” Parker v. State, 78 So. 980, 981 (Fla. 1918) (citation modified).
The text and jury instruction for robbery by sudden snatching follow this approach. Start with the text. Section 812.131(1)
requires a taking “from the victim’s person,” with intent to deprive
“the victim or the owner” of the property. FLA. STAT. § 812.131(1).
Then, the standard jury instruction explains that the person robbed
need not be the “actual owner” of the property; it is enough if “the
victim has possession of the property at the time of the offense.”
Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 15.4.
In short, Section 812.131(1)’s requirement that the defendant have intended to deprive “the victim or the owner” of the property does not make Section 812.131(1) broader than generic theft.
Both crimes require that the victim—whether or not the property
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owner—enjoys a possessory interest superior to the defendant’s at
the time of the offense.
Orozco-Orozco, which Ramdial relies on, does not support a
different answer. In Orozco-Orozco, the Ninth Circuit considered
whether carjacking, in violation of California Penal Code § 215,
qualified as a “theft offense,” and thus as an “aggravated felony,”
under the INA. 94 F.4th at 1120. As the court determined, it did
not. See id. at 1121.
The Ninth Circuit so concluded because California courts
had applied Section 215 “in a wider swath of circumstances than
those in which the generic definition of a theft offense would apply.” Id. at 1125–26. In particular, the Ninth Circuit explained, “an
individual can be convicted of violating California’s carjacking statute even if they take a car from someone who has an inferior possessory interest in the car—or none at all.” Id. at 1125. In contrast,
the Ninth Circuit noted, “[A] generic theft offense does not require
that the defendant intend to deprive the titleholder of his or her property. Instead, the government need only show that the defendant
intended to take property from a person with a superior possessory
interest in the property.” Id. at 1124.
Unlike with California courts’ interpretation of California’s
Section 215, Florida courts have not construed Section 812.131(1)
to allow for conviction if a defendant takes property from someone
with an inferior possessory interest. For starters, Ramdial has identified no case construing Section 812.131(1) to authorize conviction
of a defendant with a superior possessory interest to the non-owner
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victim. That’s not surprising. As we’ve noted, the third element
of Florida’s standard jury instruction on robbery by sudden snatching requires the State to prove that the defendant took property
“with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive (victim) or
the owner of [his] [her] right to the property.” Fla. Std. Jury Instr.
(Crim.) 15.4 (emphasis added). So the jury instructions require
non-owner victims under Section 812.131(1) to have a superior
right to the property.
So Ramdial has failed to show “a realistic probability” (or
even a theoretical possibility) “that the State would apply its statute
to conduct that falls outside the generic definition of a crime.” Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. at 193.
For the same reasons, Ramdial gets no further with his assertion that Section 812.131(1) doesn’t “contain an element limiting
the offense to conduct in which the intent directed to the [nonowner] ‘victim’ is to deprive the victim of the rights or benefits of
ownership.” As we’ve explained, generic theft doesn’t require the
defendant to deprive the victim of “the rights or benefits of ownership.” Rather, it requires only an intent to take property from
someone with a superior possessory interest. And Florida’s jury
instruction for robbery by sudden snatching requires exactly the
same thing.
Finally, Ramdial’s contention that, unlike with generic theft,
Section 812.131(1) doesn’t “require that the [non-owner] victim be
in authorized possession of the object,” fails because Ramdial is
wrong about what Section 812.131(1) demands. In fact, as we’ve
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noted several times now, Section 812.131(1) requires that a nonowner victim have a possessory interest in the property superior to
that of the defendant—the same thing that generic theft demands.
For all these reasons, Ramdial has failed to show that Section
812.131(1)’s intent element is broader than generic theft’s.
B. Section 812.131(1)’s temporary-deprivation alternative is no broader than generic theft.
Ramdial next argues that robbery by sudden snatching covers more than generic theft because the Florida crime reaches “de
minimis takings.” More specifically, Ramdial asserts that Section
812.131(1) covers a case in which the defendant “temporarily took
property from a non-owner who was holding it, then returned it in
a de minimis amount of time, with no intent to deprive anyone of
rights or benefits of ownership . . . .”3 This argument fails for two
reasons.
First, Florida’s jury instructions don’t allow for conviction
when the defendant lacked intent “to deprive anyone of rights or
benefits of ownership.” As we’ve noted, for conviction, Florida’s
standard jury instructions require a finding that the defendant acted
“with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive (victim) or
the owner of [his] [her] right to the property.” Fla. Std. Jury Instr.
3 The government contends that the BIA did not previously consider
Ramdial’s “de minimis” argument, so the argument is not properly before us.
But we understand his argument as a refinement of his temporary-taking argument, not as a distinct unexhausted theory. So we consider it.
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(Crim.) 15.4. So Section 812.131(1) does not cover the scenario that
Ramdial envisions.
Second, generic theft does not require an intent to deprive
the owner permanently. It includes a taking or exercise of control
over property without consent and with criminal intent to deprive
the owner of the rights and benefits of ownership, “even if such
deprivation is less than total or permanent.” Vassell, 839 F.3d at
1356; Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. at 189; see also Ramos v. U.S. Att’y
Gen., 709 F.3d 1066, 1070–71 (11th Cir. 2013). So the fact that Section 812.131(1) reaches deprivations where the defendant intends
to deprive the victim of their property rights even temporarily does
not make it broader than generic theft.
Nor, as Ramdial suggests, does Jaggernauth v. U.S. Attorney
General, 432 F.3d 1346, 1354 (11th Cir. 2005), support a different
answer. In Jaggernauth, we determined that Florida’s general theft
statute, FLA. STAT. § 812.014(1)—which is not at issue here—is divisible, meaning one version of that statute qualifies as an aggravated felony, but another does not. In particular, Section
812.014(1)’s intent element contains alternative elements: the State
may satisfy the element either by showing that the defendant took
property with an intent to “deprive” or an intent to “appropriate.”
432 F.3d at 1354–55. An intent to “deprive” satisfies the “aggravated felony” requirement, but an intent to “appropriate” does not.
But as we’ve explained, Section 812.131(1) is not divisible.
And the least way of satisfying it—by taking property from the victim’s person with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive
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the victim or owner of the right to that property, FLA. STAT.
§ 812.131(1)—matches the definition of generic “theft.” So a conviction under Section 812.131(1), unlike a conviction under Section
812.014(1), necessarily qualifies as a “theft offense” under the INA.
Ramdial’s reliance on Da Graca v. Garland, 23 F.4th 106 (1st
Cir. 2022), and Castillo v. Holder, 776 F.3d 262 (4th Cir. 2015), fares
no better. Both cases involved unauthorized-use-of-a-vehicle statutes, not robbery or theft-from-the-person statutes. In Castillo, the
Fourth Circuit considered a Virginia statute that Virginia courts
had construed to apply even when “the defendant’s use of [a vehicle] deviates only slightly from the specific scope of consensual use,
resulting in an insignificant effect on ownership interests.” 776 F.3d
at 269. For instance, the Fourth Circuit noted that the Virginia
courts had upheld a conviction under the statute where the defendant, who had his employer’s permission to use a tow truck to perform towing services, used the truck to provide towing services to
someone he had failed to seek from his employer specific authorization to tow. See id. This kind of “glorified borrowing,” the
Fourth Circuit explained, did not satisfy the definition of generic
“theft.” Id. at 269–70.
Da Graca involved a similar Rhode Island vehicle statute. 23
F.4th at 108. And because Rhode Island’s statute, like Virginia’s,
reached joyriding, the First Circuit also determined that a conviction under the law didn’t qualify as a “theft offense” under the INA.
See id. at 112–13.
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The text of the vehicle statutes implicated in both Castillo
and Da Graca differed in an important way from the text of Section
812.131(1). The Virginia and Rhode Island statutes expressly applied when the defendant lacked an “intent to steal.” See Castillo,
776 F.3d at 264; Da Graca, 23 F.4th at 108. Not only that, but Virginia courts had construed the Virginia statute to cover consensual
takings that exceeded the scope of consent in even a minimal way,
while Rhode Island’s statute reached joyriding. See Castillo, 776
F.3d at 269; Da Graca, 23 F.4th at 112–13.
Section 812.131(1) is different. First, it contains no language
that expressly makes it applicable when the defendant lacks an intent to steal. And second, unlike how Virginia and Rhode Island
state courts have construed their statutes, Florida courts have not
understood Section 812.131(1) to apply in cases involving de minimis takings of the type that Castillo and Da Graca envisioned. Put
differently, Florida robbery by sudden snatching—which requires
a taking of money or other property from the victim’s person, with
the intent to deprive the victim or owner of the right to that property, while the victim was or became aware of the taking, FLA.
STAT. § 812.131(1)—is not the sort of “glorified borrowing” or joyriding that concerned the First and Fourth Circuits. As a result,
Ramdial’s argument that a conviction under Section 812.131(1) exceeds the definition of generic theft because it includes temporary
or de minimis takings fails.
C. Section 812.131(1) requires a nonconsensual taking.
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20 Opinion of the Court 25-10093
Ramdial also challenges Section 812.131(1) as overbroad because it does not expressly require that the taking occur “without
consent.” We disagree.
The phrase “without consent” need not appear in a statute’s
text if the offense’s elements otherwise require a nonconsensual
taking. Kemokai, 83 F.4th at 893. Here, Florida law reflects that
lack of voluntary consent is inherent in robbery by sudden snatching. In C.A. v. State, 255 So. 3d 520, 521 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2018),
for instance, the defendant argued that his conduct didn’t satisfy
the definition of robbery by sudden snatching because, he said, the
victim consented to the taking. But because the court determined
that “the evidence was sufficient to conclude that the victim did
not consent to the taking,” the Florida Third District Court of Appeal upheld the conviction. Id.
Florida’s interpretation of Section 812.131(1) to require a
taking charged under the statute to be nonconsensual eliminates
any “realistic probability . . . that the State would apply its statute
to conduct that falls outside the generic definition of a crime.” Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. at 193.
IV. CONCLUSION
Because Ramdial’s conviction for Florida robbery by sudden
snatching, under FLA. STAT. § 812.131(1), qualifies as an “aggravated felony” under the INA, we deny Ramdial’s petition for review.
PETITION DENIED.