Court: Incarcerated immigrant student may be deported for failing to attend courses

News from Coloraddo.   A university student from Ghana was eligible for deportation because he failed to maintain a full course load as his visa required, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Nancy Moritz, ruled yesterday.

The reason: he did not attend classes because he was in jail for 13 months for a rape charge on which a jury acquitted him.

According to the court’s opinion,

“Raising an issue of first impression, Awuku-Asare argues that even though he did not comply with the conditions of his visa, he did not fail to maintain his status.  Specifically, he argues that “the failure to maintain status must be attributable to the
nonimmigrant to render him [removable].” . . . He further contends that because circumstances beyond his control—his incarceration—caused the lapse in his status, he is not removable.

Because we determine that the plain meaning of the relevant statute does not support this interpretation, we reject Awuku-Asare’s arguments and affirm the BIA’s decision.”

The case was handled by a law student, with attorney supervision, at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.

KJ