Criminal Defense of Immigrants
§ 11.18 (A)
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(A) Deferred Adjudication. Under prior law, if a person violated the terms of probation, and was subjected to further proceedings concerning guilt or innocence of the original charge, no conviction existed for immigration purposes.[161] Under the current statute, it no longer matters what happens during or after deferred adjudication probation. If a noncitizen enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or has “admitted sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilt,” and “the judge has ordered some form of punishment, penalty, or restraint on the alien’s liberty to be imposed,” the noncitizen is deemed convicted, even if formal adjudication is withheld,[162] which effectively classifies as convictions almost all cases of withholding of adjudication of guilt.[163] This can be very misleading where state law provides there is no conviction. See § § 7.30-7.32, supra.
[161] Matter of Ozkok, 19 I. & N. Dec. 546 (BIA 1988).
[162] INA § 101(a)(48)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48)(A). See also Herrera-Inirio v. INS, 208 F.3d 299 (1st Cir. 2000) (noncitizen who pleads guilty to spousal abuse and is given one-year probation is convicted for immigration purposes).
[163] Matter of Punu, 22 I. & N. Dec. 224 (BIA 1998).