Criminal Defense of Immigrants

The aggravated felony definition includes “murder . . . .”[836]  This aggravated felony is not defined by reference to a federal statute, and the BIA has yet to adopt a “generic” definition of the offense.[837]  This category clearly includes first- and second-degree murder,[838] but should not include manslaughter or other lesser forms of homicide, since they do not meet the common-sense definition of the term “murder.”

Unlike other aggravated felonies, murder is a permanent bar to Good Moral Character regardless of the date of conviction.[839]

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

[837] See § 19.9, supra. 

[838] United States v. Morgan, 380 F.3d 698 (2d Cir. Aug. 19, 2004) (New York conviction for second degree attempted murder, with sentence to indeterminate term of two-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half years’ imprisonment, properly treated as an “aggravated felony” for illegal re-entry sentencing purposes, even though it was not an aggravated felony under the relevant immigration statute at the time of the conviction).

[839] MTINA § 306(a)(7).