Old Criminal Convictions Haunt Immigrants

Since the 1996 immigration reforms, the United States has been enforcing record numbers of immigrants every year, many based on criminal convictions.  For a thoughtful discussion of the harshness of many of these deportations, see Bill Ong Hing, Deporting Our Souls (2006).  My colleague Jennifer Chacón also has written thoughtfully on this topic.

Jesus Collado, a lawful permanent resident who faced exclusion, detention, and deportation for a decades old (and relatively minor) criminal conviction, is the poster child for the harshness of the 1996 reforms.  “Criminal aliens,” whose convictions range from relatively minor crimes (e.g., possession of a small amount of marajuana) to truly major crimes (e.g., murder), often face mandatory detention and have had to fight to ensure judicial review of their removals.  All of this has made the deportation defense work of immigration attorneys and immigration clinics much more difficult than it previously had been. 

The Washington Post has an article today that reminds us of the harsh treatment of “criminal aliens” under current U.S. immigration law:  “Lawyers and activists [report] a rising number of legal immigrants with relatively old and minor criminal records to be snagged in the federal government’s stepped-up efforts to deport those whom authorities refer to as `criminal aliens.'”

KJ