Safe Havens

(B)  Crimes of Moral Turpitude.[206]

If the substantive offense is a CMT, a conviction for aiding the commission of that offense has traditionally been found to constitute a CMT.[207]  There are arguments available to the contrary.  See § 7.7(B), supra, and Appendix H, infra.  A conviction of aiding and abetting the commission of an offense that is not a CMT will not be considered a CMT.[208] 

Board of Immigration Appeals:

Matter of Short, 20 I. & N. Dec. 136 (BIA 1989) (“if a simple assault does not involve moral turpitude and the felony intended as a result of that assault also does not involve moral turpitude, then the two crimes combined do not involve moral turpitude”).

Matter of Espinosa, 10 I. & N. Dec. 98 (BIA 1962) (abetting non-immigrant visitor in executing false application for extension of stay not held not to be a CMT, since the substantive offense is not a CMT).

[206] See N. Tooby, J. Rollin & J. Foster, Crimes of Moral Turpitude § 9.3 (2005).

[207] 9 U.S. Dep’t of State, Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) § 40.21(a), N. 2.4(a)(2).  The Manual also says that being an accessory before the fact constitutes a CMT, without limiting this statement to substantive offenses that are CMTs.  Since accessory before the fact and aiding and abetting are equivalent, this was doubtless an error in the Manual.

[208] “Conversely, where an alien has been convicted of, or admits having committed the essential elements of, a criminal attempt, or a criminal act of aiding and abetting, accessory before or after the fact, or conspiracy, and the underlying crime is not deemed to involve moral turpitude, then INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) would not come into play.”  9 U.S. Dep’t of State, Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) § 40.21(a), N. 2.4(b).