Criminal Law & Municipal Court Archives

What is Theft by Deception?

One of the more common grounds of removal known to immigration practitioners, but no so much to the general public, is a conviction for a crime of domestic violence. Many permanent residents and aliens-and sometimes their attorneys-- are sometimes so focused on the dangers of aggravated felonies and crimes involving moral turpitude, that they neglect to ascertain whether they are exposed to a charge of deportability based on this ground. INA 237(a)(2)(E) states: "Any alien who at any time after admission is convicted of a crime of domestic violence, a crime of stalking, or a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment is deportable." Interestingly, there is no parallel inadmissibility provision for domestic violence. But what about situations where battered spouses are convicted of domestic violence crimes even though they may have been acting in response to an alleged attack by their abuser? Fortunately, the Immigration and Nationality Act recognizes limited circumstances like these and provides for a waiver to possibly waive the deportability teeth of a domestic violence conviction. The waiver can be found in INA 237(a)(7) and applies to victims of domestic violence victims. It states that the Attorney General may waive the deportability provisions of a domestic violence crime for a person "who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty and who is not and was not the primary perpetrator of violence in the relationship upon a determination that-

As has been discussed in previous entries, a conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude ("CIMT") constitutes one of the most common grounds of removability-whether it be in terms of deportability or inadmissibility. What exactly is a crime involving moral turpitude is, of course, a very complicated question subject to much interpretation and beyond the scope of this discussion. In short, though, crimes involving moral turpitude are generally those that are considered against the standards of common morality and almost always involve some knowing or purposeful conduct. Crimes which involve fraud, deceit, or intentional inflectional of severe physical injury usually are at risk of being classified as such. Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude or, under certain circumstances, even an admission of having committed a CIMT, is a ground of inadmissibility under section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which would not only potentially bar an individual from being legally admitted to the US but also prevent an individual from qualifying for a green card or visa, whether immigrant or non-immigrant. Fortunately, there is a safe harbor: it is titled the Petty Offense Exception, and serves to exempt one CIMT offense under certain specified conditions.

What exactly is a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (also commonly known by its acronym "CIMT")? There are few terms in the English language as frustratingly enigmatic as the above rubric. It is a legal term of art that, in many ways, defies strict definition. The case law in this area, if anything, shows just how amorphous its borders can be. For a non-citizen, fewer classifications are fraught with more peril other than aggravated felonies and arguably controlled substance offenses. This is in large part because a CIMT can lead to deportation, absent a waiver (if one is legally available). A useful starting definition can be found in Matter of Short, a Board of Immigration Appeals Case: CIMT "refers generally to conduct which is inherently base, vile, or depraved, and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between persons or to society in general...moral turpitude has been defined as an each which is per se morally reprehensible and extrinsically wrong..."