Criminal Defense of Immigrants

The statute includes as an aggravated felony “an offense relating to a failure to appear by a defendant for service of sentence if the underlying offense is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 5 years or more . . . .”[685]  This category has the following elements:

                (1)  a conviction of an offense

                (2)  relating to a failure to appear by a defendant

                (3)  for service of a sentence

(4)  if the underlying offense is punishable by imprisonment of five years or more.

                The possible safe havens and defenses identified in § 19.66, supra, may apply to this category as well, except that the potential sentence must be five years or more for a conviction to qualify for this category, instead of two years.

[685] INA § 101(a)(43)(Q), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(Q).