Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(A)  In General.  The courts initially defined “conviction” for immigration purposes.[19]  In 1996, for the first time, Congress in IIRAIRA defined “conviction” for all immigration purposes by statute.  See § 7.12, infra.  The legislative history indicates congressional intent to bypass certain ameliorative state statutes, so certain criminal dispositions will count as “convictions” for immigration purposes, such as deferred adjudication arrangements, even if they are not considered convictions by the state jurisdiction in which the conviction was rendered.  See § 7.13, infra.  The federal statute defining conviction includes a formal judgment of guilt, see § 7.15, infra, but also certain deferred adjudication arrangements.  See § § 7.16, et seq., infra.  The statute requires certain elements to exist before a disposition is considered a conviction for immigration purposes, see § 7.14, infra, so a disposition lacking one or more of these elements will not be considered a conviction under immigration law.  See § § 7.27, et seq., infra.

[19] See Matter of Ozkok, 19 I. & N. Dec. 546 (BIA 1988).