Safe Havens

This chapter seeks to include all significant decisions of all courts, immigration courts and all levels of federal courts, that have decided that a particular criminal act does not form a basis for deportation as:

            (1) An aggravated felony.

            This chapter includes all cases since 1988 – when the category was first created -- holding that a particular conviction is not an aggravated felony.  For comprehensive coverage of all cases deciding what convictions are aggravated felonies, see N. Tooby, Aggravated Felonies (2003).

            (2) A crime of moral turpitude.

            For crimes of moral turpitude, this chapter includes all decisions handed down since 1940, and the most significant decisions from before 1940, holding that a conviction under a particular statute is not a crime of moral turpitude.  For comprehensive coverage of all cases deciding what convictions are crimes of moral turpitude, see N. Tooby, J. Rollin & J. Foster, Crimes of Moral Turpitude (2005).

            (3)  Other grounds of deportation not covered here.

            Other grounds of deportation are not covered in this chapter, except incidentally.  Each ground of deportation — aggravated felonies and crimes of moral turpitude as well as every other ground of deportation — is covered in Chapter 7, Partial Safe Havens, listing havens that are safe only with respect to a particular ground of deportation, but not necessarily with respect to all grounds.

The essence of this chapter is a comprehensive listing of all decisions holding a given conviction is not an aggravated felony or crime of moral turpitude.  Decisions holding a disposition does fall within one of these grounds of deportation are not included here.  Some categories in this chapter are intentionally left blank, awaiting future decisions holding a conviction is not an aggravated felony or a crime of moral turpitude.