The firearms ground of deportation[1221] has the following elements:

 

(1)    conviction

(2)    after admission

(3)    of attempting to commit, conspiring to commit, or of committing

(4)    a qualifying offense,

(5)    involving a weapon which “is” a firearm or destructive device, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a).

 

This ground was added in 1988, effective November 18, 1988.[1222]  It has been amended several times since then.[1223]

[1221] INA § 237(a)(2)(C), 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(C). 

[1222] Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, Pub.L. No. 100-690, § 7348(a), 102 Stat. 4181.

[1223] INA § 237(a)(2)(C), 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(C), as amended by the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-649, § 602, 104 Stat. 4978, 5077, as further amended by the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-416, § 203(b)(1), 108 Stat. 4305, 4311, as redesignated by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) (enacted as Division C of Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-208, § 305(a)(2), 110 Stat. 3009, 3009-597).  The 1994 amendment added the words “attempting or conspiring.”

Ninth Circuit

SAFE HAVENS - GENERAL SAFE HAVENS - CONVICTION-BASED GROUNDS OF DEPORTATION
Immigration counsel can argue that a person convicted of aiding and abetting the commission of a deportable offense is not deportable unless the definition of aiding and abetting, under the law of the jurisdiction of conviction, is coextensive with the federal definition of aiding and abetting. For example, in California, a person can be convicted of aiding and abetting on the basis of mere encouragement, even if no actual assistance is provided. This form of aiding a theft offense has been held insufficient to constitute a theft offense aggravated felony. United States v. Corona-Sanchez, 291 F.3d 1201 (9th Cir. 2002) (en banc). This same argument could be used to argue that a conviction of aiding and abetting any other deportable offense - a firearms conviction, crime of moral turpitude, domestic violence conviction, or controlled substances conviction - does not fall within the ground of deportation. Criminal defense counsel, however, should assume that a conviction of aiding a deportable offense also constitutes a deportable offense and avoid such a conviction if possible.