Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(A)  In General.  In order to trigger deportation under this ground, the disposition of the criminal case must constitute a “conviction” under the statutory immigration-law definition of the term.[59]  It includes a formal judgment of guilt, but also exists when judgment has been withheld if two requirements are met:

(1)     a judge or jury has found the noncitizen guilty, or the noncitizen has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or has admitted sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilt; and

(2)      the judge has ordered some form of punishment, penalty, or restraint on the noncitizen’s liberty to be imposed.[60]  See Chapter 7, supra.

[59] INA § 101(a)(48)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48)(A), as enacted by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) (enacted as Division C of Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-208, § 322(a)(1), 110 Stat. 3009, 3009-628).

[60] INA § 101(a)(48)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48)(A), as enacted by IIRAIRA § 322(a)(1).