Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(D)  Aggravated Felony.  Although the controlled substances ground of deportation contains this exception, the aggravated felony drug trafficking ground of deportation does not.  On its face, then, while simple possession of under 30 grams of marijuana clearly does not trigger deportation under the controlled substances ground, it can trigger deportation as an aggravated felony.[330]  Since this result is quite nonsensical, there is a possible argument that the exception should be implied as to the aggravated felony ground.[331]

[330] See § 19.55, supra.

[331] See N. Tooby & J. Rollin, Safe Havens: How to Identify and Construct Non-Deportable Convictions § 7.69(D) (2005).