Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(B)  Bar to Family Unity.  The 1996 IIRAIRA denies Family Unity benefits to persons who “commit an act of juvenile delinquency which if committed by an adult” would be a felony involving violence or the threat of physical force.[86]  The rule applies to benefits “granted or extended” after September 30, 1996.[87]  The new rule arguably applies only to acts of juvenile delinquency committed on or after September 30, 1996, because there is a general presumption against retroactive application of the laws and because the statute uses the present-tense “commit.”  See § § 12.37, 24.8, infra.

[1] IIRAIRA § 383 amends the Immigration Act of 1990 § 301(e)(3) to bar from Family Unity a person who “(3) has committed an act of juvenile delinquency which if committed by an adult would be classified as-- (A) a felony crime of violence that has an element the use or attempted use of physical force against another individual, or (B) a felony offense that by its nature involves a substantial risk that physical force against another individual may be used in the course of committing the offense.”

[2] IIRAIRA § 383.