Safe Havens

 

The general safe havens described in this chapter are as follows:

 

            (1)       Persons whose citizenship status or nationality renders them immune

                        from the grounds of deportation:

 

                        (a)  United States Citizens, see § 4.5, infra;

 

                        (b)  Nationals of the United States, see § 4.6, infra; and

 

                        (c)  American Indians born in Canada, see § 4.7, infra.

 

            (2)       Dispositions under a procedure that is not considered criminal

                        procedure, so the disposition is not considered a conviction of a

                        crime, see § 4.9, infra;

 

                        (a)  Juvenile delinquency dispositions, see § 4.10, infra;

 

                       

(b)  Dispositions under a procedure that is not considered criminal

                        procedure, so the disposition is not considered a conviction of a

                        crime, see § 4.11, infra; and

 

                        (c)  Certain foreign convictions are for conduct that is not considered

                        criminal under United States law, see § 4.12, infra.

 

            (3)       Dispositions of criminal cases that do not constitute convictions,

                        under the immigration-law definition of “conviction.”  See § 4.13,

                        infra.

 

                        (a)  Acquittal, see § 4.15, infra;

 

                        (b)  Dismissal before conviction, see § 4.16, infra;

 

                        (c)  Deferred prosecution, see § 4.17, infra;

 

                        (d)  Deferred verdict, see § 4.18, infra; and

 

                        (e)  Deferred sentence, see § 4.19, infra.

 

            (4)       Convictions in criminal cases that are not considered sufficiently

                        final to permit the initiation of deportation proceedings, because an

                        appeal is pending or they are still subject to appeal, see § 4.21, infra;

 

            (5)       Convictions that have been effectively eliminated for immigration

                        purposes by some form of post-conviction relief, see § 4.24, infra;

 

                        (a)  Judicial Recommendations Against Deportation, see § 4.25,

                        infra;

 

                        (b)  Executive pardons, see § 4.26, infra;

 

                        (c)  State rehabilitative relief, see § 4.27, infra;

 

                        (d)  Convictions that have been vacated on a ground of legal

                        invalidity, see § 4.28, infra; and

 

                        (e)  Sentences that have been modified, reduced, or eliminated by

                        post-conviction relief, see § 4.29, infra.

            (6)       Convictions that are defective on some ground that may be raised in

                        immigration court as a defense to removal, see § 4.30, infra;

 

                        (a)  Convictions by a court that lacks jurisdiction to render a

                        conviction, see § 4.31, infra; and

 

                        (b)  Convictions (usually foreign convictions) that are rendered in

                        absentia without adequate notice to the defendant, see § 4.32, infra.

 

            (7)       Convictions that do not follow admission do not trigger any ground

                        of removal described in INA § 237(a), 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a).  See §

                        4.33, infra;

 

For other “partial” safe havens that apply only to a specific ground of deportation, such as domestic violence or firearms conviction grounds, see Chapter 7, infra.  For decisions identifying partial safe havens that apply to aggravated felonies, or crimes of moral turpitude, see Chapter 8, infra.  For selected safe havens, that do not fall within any conviction- or conduct-based grounds of deportation, see Chapter 9, infra.