Safe Havens

To determine whether a proposed disposition constitutes a safe haven, the following resources are available in the present volume:

            1.  Check Chapter 8 under the type of crime, such as Crimes Against the Person.  Look for judicial decisions holding an offense identical or closely related to the offense under consideration is not an aggravated felony and is also not a crime involving moral turpitude.

            2.  Check Chapter 7 to see whether the safe haven falls within the safe haven principles for each of the possible conviction-based grounds of deportation.

            3.  Review the Aggravated Felony Alphabetical Quick Checklist given in Appendix E, infra.

            4.  Review the complete Grounds of Deportation Checklist given in Appendix A, infra.

            5.  Check the updates of the relevant books on www.CriminalAndImmigrationLaw.com, which is updated monthly, for any relevant new decisions.

            6.  Doublecheck the case law of the Board of Immigration Appeals and the circuit within which the case arises to verify no new decisions have been handed down which alter the analysis.

            The most complete collection of information concerning aggravated felonies is contained in N. Tooby, Aggravated Felonies (2003), for use both by immigration and criminal counsel.  In 2003, there were 2271 federal cases in all courts containing the phrase “aggravated felony.”  In addition, there were 135 decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals using the phrase.  Not all of these interpret the meaning of the phrase; some use the phrase in passing; others involve a concession, rather than a judicial decision, that a certain conviction constitutes an aggravated felony.

            The chief value of Aggravated Felonies is that every decision was examined, and every decision containing a significant discussion concerning whether a conviction fell into the definition of aggravated felony has been included in this volume.  All definition cases are categorized according to the aggravated felony category in Appendix A to Aggravated Felonies, and by the name of the crime of conviction in Appendix B to Aggravated Felonies.  Moreover, the Detailed Table of Contents, the Table of Authorities, and the Subject Matter Index of Aggravated Felonies provide additional ways by which counsel can quickly and easily find the pertinent decisions.