Will a Misdemeanor Conviction Affect My Immigration Status?
Immigration is a complicated and nuanced area of the law. Many different factors can have a significant impact on a person's immigration status. Possibly the most feared factors are criminal convictions. A criminal conviction can result in deportation and other consequences when it comes to a person's immigration status.
Fortunately, not all criminal convictions will have a significant impact on a person's immigration status. But, whether or not a person is convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony is actually less significant when it comes to immigration status than the type of crime a person is convicted of.
Serious Crimes and Aggravated Felonies
Generally, serious crimes, like murder, drug trafficking, human trafficking, conspiracy, and others, will be grounds for deportation. However, starting in 1988, congress created a list of "aggravated felonies" which also can be grounds for deportation, and has expanded that list over time. It is worth noting that the list of aggravated felonies includes many crimes that are typically only charged as misdemeanors. The list initially only included serious offenses that one might expect to be grounds for deportation, but is continually being amended to include more minor violations, such as:
- Simple battery
- Theft
- Filing a fraudulent tax return
- Failure to appear in court
In addition to the above crimes, any crime that is considered a crime of moral turpitude can also have grave impacts on a person's immigration status.
Crimes of Moral Turpitude
Crimes of moral turpitude generally include acts that infer a person has breached another person's or the public's trust. These can include both felonies and misdemeanors. While crimes like fraud, embezzlement, perjury, child abuse, and tax evasion are easy to understand as crimes where trust has been broken, small crimes like petty theft or shoplifting, which are typically misdemeanors, can also be considered as such.
If a non-citizen is convicted of a crime of moral turpitude, or an aggravated felony, they may not only be deported, but they may be ineligible to return to U.S. forever. Therefore, it is incredibly important for any non-citizen facing criminal charges to not only consult a criminal attorney and inform them of their immigration status, but to also consult an experienced immigration attorney, especially before agreeing to any plea bargain.
Related Resources:
- Find Immigration Lawyers Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
- How to Fight Wrongful Deportation (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Can ICE Agents Make Arrests at Courthouses? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Can This New Chatbot Solve Refugee Legal Issues? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)