It is an issue for anyone to be found guilty of committing a crime against federal and state laws. However, you may be in a particularly critical situation if you are not a United States citizen but of some other sort of immigration status. That is, the future you have planned for yourself in this country may become more unclear and unknown. Without further ado, please continue reading to learn the potential consequences of committing a crime as an immigrant and how an experienced Morristown criminal defense lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can help you avoid facing any such punishments.
What are the consequences of committing a crime as an immigrant?
Firstly, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may detain you in a detention center if they have probable cause to believe you are removable (i.e., you have been convicted of a crime). From here, you may go before a judge in immigration court for your deportation proceedings. Here, if you cannot convince a judge of your defense against removal, they may order your deportation. After being deported, you may be stripped of your immigration status in the United States. With this, you may be barred from re-entering the country indefinitely.
What types of crimes most likely lead to a deportation order?
The crimes that may put you at risk of deportation may be disclosed in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). They read as follows:
- Aggravated felonies: this is a crime that is serious enough to make you ineligible to be present in the United States.
- Murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor.
- Child pornography.
- Drug trafficking.
- Firearm offenses.
- Racketeering.
- Money laundering or fraud of more than $10,000.
- Theft or burglary with a sentence of at least one year.
- Crimes of violence with a sentence of at least one year.
- Failure to appear in court for certain felony offenses.
- Crimes involving moral turpitude: this is a crime that is considered to be depraved, immoral, or shocking to the public conscience.
- Murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, assault, mayhem, and animal fighting.
- Embezzlement, forgery, identity theft, and insurance fraud.
- Rape, child molestation, sexual assault, and incest.
- Robbery, burglary, and larceny.
- Intentionally lying under oath in a legal proceeding.
- Possession of illegal substances with the intent to sell.
- Other crimes listed in the INA:
- Domestic violence, child abuse, or child neglect.
- Human trafficking or terrorist activity.
- Improper entry and reentry into the U.S.
- Smuggling, transporting, and harboring aliens.
- Prostitution, commercialized vices, and religious freedom violations.
At Graves Andrews, LLC, we share the same goal as you, which is likely to continue enjoying life in the United States. So please do not hesitate to work with a skilled Morristown criminal defense lawyer from our firm today.
