Aggravated Felonies

            Convictions in unlisted jurisdictions, i.e., convictions which are not entered under federal, state, or foreign law,  do not trigger deportation.  The maxim of statutory interpretation, “expressio unius est exclusio alterius,” means that where a statute lists the items to which it applies, “all omissions should be understood as exclusions.”[191]  Therefore, a statute that specifies a ground of deportation, and which lists certain jurisdictions as producing convictions that fall within the ground of deportation, will be interpreted as excluding other jurisdictions which are not listed. 

            The reasoning is the same for the specific listing of certain non-substantive offenses.  Therefore, the Board of Immigration Appeals and the federal courts, particularly within the Ninth Circuit, follow the rule that when a statute defining a ground of deportation expressly lists certain offenses as coming within the ground of deportation, other similar offenses are excluded and do not trigger deportation.  See § 3.48, infra.

[191] N. Singer, Statutes and Statutory Construction § 47:23, p. 307 (6th ed. 2002).