Safe Havens



 
 

§ 7.108 (F)

 
Skip to § 7.

For more text, click "Next Page>"

(F)  Immigration offenses, as well, are often considered to be regulatory offenses, rather than crimes of moral turpitude.[959]


[959] E.g., Matter of Tiwari, 19 I. & N. Dec. 875 (BIA 1989) (conviction of a regulatory offense under INA § 274(a), 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a), of bringing in and transporting noncitizens, without a showing of “gain,” is not a crime of moral turpitude under INA § 241(a)(4)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(4)(A) as fraud is not an essential element of § 274(a) and the amended version of § 274(a) resembles a strict liability statute, not requiring a showing of “fraud or an evil intent”).

Updates

 

CRIME OF MORAL TURPITUDE - DUI + SUSPENDED LICENSE
Marmolejo-Campos v. Gonzales, __ F.3d __, 2007 WL 2610788 (9th Cir. Sept. 12, 2007) (Arizona conviction for violation of A.R.S. 28-1383(A)(1), driving under the influence with knowledge that defendant did not have valid license to drive, is a crime involving moral turpitude for immigration purposes).

Third Circuit

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE " UNLICENSED DEALING IN FIREARMS
Mayorga v. Attorney General U.S., ___ F.3d ___, 2014 WL 2898528 (3d Cir. Jun. 27, 2014) (federal conviction of unlicensed business of firearms dealing, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(1)(A) and (a)(2), did not categorically constitute a crime of moral turpitude, since the offense is a regulatory/licensing offense); see Matter of Abreu"Semino, 12 I. & N. Dec. 775, 776 (BIA 1968) (the violation of a regulatory, or licensing, or revenue provision of a statute is not a crime involving moral turpitude).

Fourth Circuit

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPIUTDE " SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION
Mohamed v. Holder, 769 F.3d 885 (4th Cir. Oct. 17, 2014) (Virgina conviction for violation of VaCodeAnn. 18.2-472.1, failure to register as a sex offender, is not a crime involving moral turpitude for immigration purposes, since it is merely a regulatory offense), disagreeing with Matter of Tobar-Lobo, 24 I&N Dec. 143 (BIA 2007).

Ninth Circuit

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE " SEX OFFENSES " FAILURE TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER
Pannu v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2011 WL 1782959 (9th Cir. May 11, 2011) (remand to BIA to review issue of whether California conviction of failure to register as a sex offender, Penal Code 290(g)(1), categorically constituted a crime of moral turpitude), citing Plasencia-Ayala v. Mukasey, 516 F.3d 738, 743 n.2, 747 (9th Cir. 2008) (Nevada conviction for failure to register as a sex offender under a similar law (Nev. Rev. Stat. 179D.550) did not categorically constitute a CMT, since that statute creates strict liability for failing to register or notify of a change of address, so that a defendant could be convicted for forgetting to register or even for accidentally sending his registration forms to the wrong address).
CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE - REGULATORY OFFENSES
Plasencia-Ayala v. Mukasey, 516 F.3d 738 (9th Cir. Feb. 7, 2008) (Nevada conviction of failure to register as a sex offender, in violation of Nev. Rev. Stat. 179D.550, does not constitute a crime involving moral turpitude within the meaning of INA 237(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), because the offense of conviction is a regulatory offense that is not inherently evil, but is an offense solely because a law was passed regulating it), following Fong v. INS, 308 F.2d 191, 195 (9th Cir.1962) (holding that an alien who was deportable for failing to register with the Attorney General had committed "only a minor infraction" and that his record showed "no moral turpitude whatever").
CRIME OF MORAL TURPITUDE - STATUTORY RAPE
Quintero- Salazar v. Keisler, __ F.3d __, 2007 WL 2916162 (9th Cir. Oct. 9, 2007) (California conviction of statutory rape, in violation of California Penal Code 261.5(d), where the victim is under 16 years of age and the actor is over 21, is not a crime involving moral turpitude, since (1) it includes consensual sex between [at minimum] between a high-school junior and a college sophomore, and is not inheritly base, vile, or depraved; court also noted that (2) the statute proscribes at least some malum prohibitum conduct, since the same act would not be illegal at all if the two were married at the time; (3) the same conduct is not illegal in other states; (4) the statute was passed in order to address teenage pregnancy, not to avoid a moral issue; and (5) the offense does not require any element of intent be proven).

Other

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE " REGULATORY OFFENSES " PRACTICE ADVISORY
Offenses classed as regulatory offenses generally are not considered to involve moral turpitude because although the behavior is illegal, there is nothing inherently wrong, fraudulent or evil about it. If it is not intrinsically wrong, the fact that it is illegal " standing alone -- does not make it turpitudinous. However, there are inconsistencies in the BIA case law. See Quintero-Salazar v. Keisler, 506 F.3d 688, 693 (9th Cir. 2007) (Where an act is only statutorily prohibited, rather than inherently wrong, the act generally will not involve moral turpitude.), citing Beltran-Tirado v. INS, 213 F.3d 1179, 1184 (9th Cir. 2000); Matter of J, 4 I. & N. Dec. 512, 1951 WL 7052 (BIA 1951). For a comprehensive digest of moral turpitude holdings on regulatory cases, see Tooby, Rollin & Foster, Crimes of Moral Turpitude 8.22 (2008 and monthly updates since at nortontooby.com).

 

TRANSLATE